Adult Critical Care

Mt. Zion Campus - Parnassus Campus

Adult Surgical Oncological Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The UCSF Mount Zion ICU provides critical care to oncology patients that have undergone surgical interventions. This 7 bed ICU is located at the Mount Zion campus, a short distance from the main Medical Center. The Comprehensive Cancer Center is also part of the Mount Zion facility.

Patient Care
Critically ill patients in the ICU are recovering from extensive cancer operations and require hemodynamic, pulmonary, and post-anesthesia management. The surgeries typically involve solid tumors of the oropharynx, head, and neck; breasts; liver and kidneys; colo-rectal areas; gynecologic and genito-urinary organs; as well as bone and soft tissue. Often plastic surgery is involved and chemotherapy is occasionally administered.

Our patients’ needs are co-managed by the primary surgical team, a critical care attending MD, and the RNs. We focus on a continuum that first stabilizes the physiological condition, then mobilizes the patient in an effort to re-establish independence. The ICU’s holistic team approach also relies on the skills of the CNS, RT, social worker, PT, OT, RD, and spiritual counselor.

We highly value family involvement throughout the continuum of care in the ICU. Both supporting the family and enabling the family to give support is crucial to our cancer patients and is integrated into all aspects of care from each member of the team.

Staff
The ICU-MZ nursing staff consists of a patient care manager, clinical nurses, a unit-based educator, patient care assistants, patient support assistants, and clerks. Additional supports are provided by the critical care clinical nurse specialist; the surgical clinical nurse specialist who assists with stoma and skin care; and the oncology clinical nurse specialist who is a chemotherapy resource.

The ICU is staffed for nurse to patient ratios of one to one, one to two, or two to one. There is one charge nurse each shift. The skill mix ratio is 90% RN to 10% non-licensed personnel. The RN shift length is 12 hours.

Nursing Skills
RNs in the ICU are skilled at caring for patients receiving therapies that include: post anesthesia recovery; mechanical ventilation; vasoactive drug infusions; arrhythmia interventions; hemodynamic monitoring (including pulmonary artery and arterial lines); organ reconstruction; free-flap implanted dopplers; and chemotherapy.




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