Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)
Committed to Communication & Specialized Care
The staff at Torrance Memorial Medical Center's 12-bed Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) deliver the highest quality cardiovascular care for patients who have severe heart disease or who are recovering from a cardiovascular surgery or event. Our seven intensivists and highly trained nursing staff provide advanced cardiovascular care by combining access to the latest technology with communication, cooperation, compassion, and commitment to continuous improvement.
Connected Communication
At Torrance Memorial's CVICU, we believe that communication is an essential part of quality cardiovascular care. Our nurses and intensivists work as a team and seamlessly communicate with other medical specialists to meet each patient's unique needs.
Our staff members believe that face-to-face meetings with other medical specialists - such as surgeons, interventionists and emergency department staff - are the best way to learn more about a patient's condition, history and ongoing care needs. That's why our nurses and intensivists strive to do in-person "warm hand-offs" whenever possible to ensure that they receive the most complete, accurate and up-to-date information on each patient who is being placed in their care.
To further streamline communication, Torrance Memorial's cardiovascular nurses, surgeons, intensivists and other medical staff members are connected via cell phone and HIPAA-protected text messaging.
Compassionate, Loving Care
Our staff members understand that the CVICU can be scary and overwhelming for patients and their families. Because our goal is to help CVICU patients and their families feel empowered and in control, we make patient and family communication a top priority. Our nurses and intensivists take the time to answer questions and go over every aspect of a patient's care, including what each machine or medication does and what to expect.
To help our nursing team provide the most specialized patient care, each CVICU nurse is assigned to one patient and is in the patient's room at all times after surgery. As a result, our nurses are on the front lines of patient care and are tuned in to each patient's unique healthcare needs.
Planning & Protocols
Whenever possible, our CVICU specialists review test results and other patient information in advance and work with other healthcare specialists to make the best plan for each patient's ongoing care.
Our staff also are committed to establishing, following and improving protocols that promote patient safety, outstanding outcomes, and consistent, high-quality care. For example, our staff members follow aggressive mobility protocols that get patients up and moving as soon as possible and have been proven to improve patient outcomes, decrease delirium, and reduce mortality.
