The University of Toledo Medical Center will open a new surgical intensive care unit on Monday, Dec. 5, enhancing the hospital’s ability to care for the most complicated trauma and surgical cases.
As a provisional Level II trauma center, UTMC is prepared to provide life-saving care for the most serious injuries 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Nursing director Pierre Maldonado wheels a cart in the new surgical intensive care unit, adding supplies while readying the unit for patients.
The addition of a dedicated surgical intensive care unit alongside the hospital’s existing medical intensive care unit allows for more specialized care of those trauma patients, said Pierre Maldonado, nursing director for critical care.
“Surgical patients are usually managed a little bit more assertively because you know why they’re there. You know they have a broken pelvis from a car crash or that they’ve undergone open heart surgery,” Maldonado said. “If you’re coming into the medical ICU, you’re often coming in as a mystery. Working to find that answer is a different process. Having these separate, more specialized units with their own dedicated teams should result in better patient outcomes.”
The new suite, located on the hospital’s second floor, has 10 beds, bringing UTMC’s total available ICU beds to 28.
Though the new ICU is specifically set up to care for surgical patients, Maldonado said the beds can be used for any patient who requires a high level of care, adding to UTMC’s overall ability to care for critically ill individuals.
Opening a surgical intensive care unit is an important part of UTMC’s overall efforts to enhance its trauma care capabilities.
After two years as a Level III trauma center, UTMC was granted provisional status as a Level II trauma center this spring. Since then, UTMC has added additional staff, including new trauma surgeons.
The hospital will operate under provisional status until a visit from the American College of Surgeons in the next year.
