Newswise — The Specialty Hospital at Levindale has opened Maryland’s first high intensity unit inside a chronic hospital. This unit provides heart monitoring for patients who require specialized medical care and treatment for serious illnesses and/or injuries.
“Levindale saw a need in the Baltimore community for this kind of new specialized care to manage acute patients,” says Dean A. Smith, R.N., B.S.N., N.H.A. “Close monitoring of this type complements the other therapies that our patients receive." These services can include, but are not limited to, ventilator management and weaning, chest tube management and complex airway management.
The High Intensity Unit also offers enhanced care through an interdisciplinary approach for patients with critical, medically complex problems who require intensive hospitalization for an extended period of time. There are a total of 20 beds on Levindale’s High Intensity Unit, and 16 of them are equipped with high-tech monitors. Patients, 18 and older, may be admitted directly from intensive care units and intermediate care units.
The staffing for this unit includes on-site doctors, physician assistants, respiratory therapists and registered nurses who are certified in Advanced Cardio Life Support. The ratio of nurses to patients is tailored to this level of care.
Additional services also include an on-site pharmacy with 24/7 consultant pharmacists, laboratory and diagnostic radiological services, as well as physical, occupational and speech therapies. Direct access to LifeBridge Health medical experts is also available.
Levindale’s High Intensity Unit is part of the Specialty Hospital at Levindale, which is a licensed 120-bed hospital that is Joint Commission and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities accredited.
The Specialty Hospital at Levindale is part of Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center, which is part of LifeBridge Health, one of the largest, most comprehensive providers of health services in the Northwest Baltimore area, which also includes Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital and Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org.
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