Westchester Medical Center rejuvenates ICU

Doctors and nurses at Westchester Medical Center yesterday not only transferred patients to a new unit, they took them to a new generation.

With the official opening of the hospital's $2.9 million medical intensive care unit, hospital staff and patients bid farewell to the cramped, 1970s-era space in favor of a bigger, brighter unit equipped with the latest technology and modern furnishings.

The project is part of a long-term, multimillion-dollar renovation to overhaul the medical center's main tower.

The new 11-bed unit - sometimes called the MICU, or "mic-U" - cares for the sickest patients in the hospital and, arguably, in the country. About 400 patients flow through the unit yearly, said the unit's medical director, Dr. Lawrence DeLorenzo.

"We take care of patients with multi-organ system failure," DeLorenzo said. "Folks cared for here are usually critically ill."

That's something Ruth Dapp of Highland, N.Y., already knows.

Dapp has practically lived in the medical intensive care unit since July. Her 27-year-old son, Joshua, who has cancer, struggles to breathe on a respirator in one of the rooms. Ruth Dapp spent most of the past 85 days sleeping on couches and lounge chairs.

"I promised him back when he was diagnosed that I was going to be with him until the cure," Dapp said.

Dapp appreciates the new unit, and the larger room her son is in, but she said the generosity and concern of the nursing staff are what has helped her through this difficult time. When nurses notice she hasn't eaten, she said, they buy her food, sometimes leaving it on her chair.

"I can't walk down the hall without somebody hugging me," Dapp said.

DeLorenzo said the new unit is meant to be a soothing place for patients and their family members.

Each large, single-occupancy room has a window allowing for more natural light. The halls are wide with earth-tone decor, a trend in hospital design.

It has four more beds than the old unit, which at times couldn't fit the overflow of patients. The larger rooms will help with infection control because bedding and other supplies are contained inside each patient's room, DeLorenzo said.

A broad and centrally located nurses station is flanked by smaller desks outside each of the rooms. Nurses are now able to monitor their patients using closed-circuit cameras affixed above hospital beds.

There is typically one nurse, sometimes two, per patient depending on how critical the patient's condition, nurse manager Kathy Longo said.

Longo said nurses are excited to work in a newer, more modern unit, which she says will be more efficient and help them deliver quality patient care.

Hospital officials plan eventually to renovate all of the hospital's six intensive care units for adults.

They expect four new ICUs will be completed within the next year.

The hospital recently installed a modular addition to its emergency department in order to renovate the original structure. Renovations on seven labor and delivery rooms are also in the works.

The hospital's main tower opened in 1977, and there have been few physical upgrades, said Michael Israel, chief executive officer of the medical center.

"You take a look at the older ICUs, and it is obvious that we need to do something," Israel said.

Hospital officials are in the process of putting together its budget and "don't want to bite off more than we can chew," Israel said in terms of the renovations.

Another challenge is an unfortunate fact of life: The hospital beds are always in use, making it difficult to work around the flow of very ill people, said Tony Mahler, the medical center's senior vice president for strategic planning.

"The demand for critical care is constant," Mahler said.