Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/538813
University Hospital opened its million- square-foot Sky Tower in 2014, with a newly designed Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit expected to open later this year. T HE DISCOVERY OF a serious heart problem in a young child comes as frightening news for families. Even though the past 20 years have seen incredible advances in the medical and surgical care of these tiny, beating hearts, the words "congenital heart defect" still fill parents with anxiety and fear. At University Hospital, an innovative reimagin- ing of its Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit (PCCU) is underway, with the goal of easing those fears and addressing the care and comfort of the entire family. Staffed by pediatric specialists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the new unit — set for completion later this year — will be unique in Texas, and include six hotel-like rooms for parents to sleep just a few steps from their child's room, along with a common living area, a shared kitchen and laundry. It will help families enjoy a little normalcy during extended stays. "It's not unusual that we do a complex heart opera- tion on a baby who is in the hospital for several weeks. And it's also not unusual that the family lives in El Paso or the Rio Grande Valley," says Adil Husain, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Health Science Center, and Pediatric Surgeon-in-Chief at University Hospital. "If the parents are lucky, they find a room at a Ronald McDonald House or a place somewhere to stay at night. But oftentimes they'll sleep in their child's room, night after night." From the time they arrive, children are placed in a "variable acuity" room — a specially equipped room capable of intensive care, but with the features and amenities of a regular room. That means the child doesn't move from ICU to recovery room to standard room, as in most other hospitals. The idea was modeled after a similar unit at the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where studies have shown it leads to better outcomes, a lower risk of medical errors, lower costs and greater patient and staff satisfaction. THE SOUTH TEXAS PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART CENTER AT UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM REIMAGINES ITS CONGENITAL HEART PROGRAM WITH A FAMILY- CENTERED APPROACH AND INNOVATIVE NEW VARIABLE ACUITY ROOMS. At University Health System, a Children's Heart Program That Embraces Families COV ER FE AT UR E COV ER FE AT UR E 6 | San Antonio MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M