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Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center recently opened the new Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit designed around the unique needs of critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients with congenital heart defects. In America, about eight in every 1,000 children are born with a congenital heart defect. During the last three decades, those children are living longer, thanks to advancements in diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, major advancements have also been made in the field of pediatric intensive care. Now, those children are treated in units dedicated to their specific needs, rather than in units the primarily care for adults with acquired heart disease. The CVICU will provide an optimal setting to care for these neonates, infants and children anatomic anomalies, said Antonio Cabrera, medical director of Le Bonheur's Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. The unit also will serve children who need staged heart repairs as they grow. Le Bonheur's CVICU is staffed by a dedicated team of pediatric intensivists, cardiac intensivists, cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiac nurse practitioners, pediatric cardiac nurses and respiratory therapists. The unit features five large rooms, with plenty of space to accommodate the patients' families and the large medical team who work in tandem on critical cases. At Le Bonheur, the CVICU is located near the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on the second floor. A waiting room for parents is attached. Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center offers extensive cardiovascular services in this area, including the evaluation and treatment of all forms of congenital and acquired heart disease, hypertension, cardiac rhythm disorders and other related pediatric cardiology diagnoses. The Cardiac Institute is the only pediatric cardiovascular program in the Mid-South, utilizing the skills of pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and a specially trained staff of pediatric experts.
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