Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) is a unit dedicated to the care of infants, children, and adults with congenital or acquired cardiac disease.

• The CICU at MUSC Children’s Health was one of the first in the nation to provide dedicated, specialized cardiac care
• CICU is a state-of-the-art 14-bed facility with the capacity to increase to 18 beds
• The CICU is equipped with advanced technology and patient monitoring devices that help identify important trends early and provide safe care
• Each patient (and family) has their own private room with a bathroom and an additional bed for family members
• Each room is equipped with a SmartScreen television that provides information about the unit, the CICU care team and free entertainment options
• Services for families staying in the CICU include a kitchen, a laundry facility, showers, and lounges

The CICU Team

• Over 400 patients every year receive care from the experienced and expert CICU team
• The multidisciplinary CICU care team includes:
  • Expert physicians who have advanced training in pediatric cardiac intensive care
  • Pediatric cardiology fellows
  • Specialized pediatric cardiac ICU nurses
  • Pediatric cardiac Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
  • Pediatric cardiac Registered Dietician (RD)
  • Pediatric respiratory therapist
  • Occupational, physical, and speech therapists
• The CICU team works closely with cardiothoracic surgery, interventional cardiology, and cardiothoracic anesthesia to ensure excellent communication with patients and families who receive care from these teams
• The CICU has a dedicated social worker and case management specialist to assist families with lodging, transportation, and other needs

Multidisciplinary CICU Bedside Rounds

• The multidisciplinary CICU care team performs "bedside rounds" each day together as "one care team"
• During rounds, the team reviews important patient data and develops a care plan for the day
• Patients and families are invited to join rounds each day, engage in the discussion and decision-making, and ask questions

Safe, High-Quality Care

• The CICU team regularly reviews patient safety and quality data
• The CICU is an active participant of the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4) – a network of less than 75 pediatric CICUs across the world
• PC4 data allows us to measure the quality of care we provide in the CICU and collaborate with other units to improve care
• Multiple, ongoing quality improvement initiatives have led to complication rates that are among the lowest in the country, such as infection and cardiac arrest
• A strong commitment to patient safety and a continuous pursuit of improving the quality of care provided has resulted in patient outcomes that are among the best in the country

Contact

To contact the MUSC Children's Health Cardiac Intensive Care Unit please call 843-985-1340.