McLaren Bay Region, part of statewide McLaren Health Care and leading provider of cardiovascular care in the Great Lakes Bay Region, has expanded and enhanced its care of heart patients with the opening of a dedicated Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care Unit (SICU).
The 10-bed unit will be staffed by a care team specifically trained and experienced in the complex needs of critically ill patients recovering from a surgical procedure.
“Surgical patients whose conditions may present added complications require unique monitoring and care,” said Stacey Klump, McLaren Bay Region Chief Nursing Officer. “This is where the discussion for a surgical ICU began. Our devotion is firm in providing all intensive care patients with a multidisciplinary approach, though this expansion will allow us to serve those surgical patients with the specialized care they require to help achieve the best possible outcome.”
Already providing an elevated level of care in a medical ICU for patients recovering from complex medical cases, such as stroke and severe respiratory conditions, the establishment of a committed SICU grew from the growing volume of intricate surgical cases that require specialized post-operative care.
Overseeing the unit’s operation is Kerri Mellon, MSN, BSN, RN, the McLaren Bay Region Director of Patient Care Services who conceived the idea and worked for several years to develop it.
In 1999, the cardiovascular program at McLaren Bay Region became the first in the region to perform an open-heart surgery. Over the years, the program has regularly introduced the latest heart and vascular procedures and capabilities to expand and advance its care and treatment offerings to address the quality-of-life-limiting and, in many cases, life-threatening conditions. These include minimally invasive procedures such as TAVR, TCAR, Watchman, along with complex vascular operations and minimally invasive endovascular procedures.
Heart and vascular diseases, in their many forms, are the leading cause of death in the United States — from conditions that limit a patient’s quality of life through chronic symptoms to others that increase their risk for potentially life-threatening attacks, such as a heart attack or stroke.
Common symptoms of heart and vascular diseases include chest discomfort, shortness of breath, swelling in legs or ankles, chronic fatigue, and an uneven heartbeat.
Anyone experiencing such symptoms should make an appointment with their primary care provider, who can evaluate a patient’s symptoms and determine if they require a referral to a cardiologist or vascular surgeon.
To learn more about the advanced cardiovascular capabilities and care offered at McLaren Bay Region, visit mclaren.org/bayheart.
About McLaren Bay Region
McLaren Bay Region is a 415-bed acute tertiary care hospital in Bay City, Michigan, providing specialty care, primary care, and preventive care. Services include cardiovascular, neuroscience, orthopedics, oncology, women’s health, and rehabilitation. McLaren Bay Region’s emergency department treats nearly 40,000 patients each year and is certified by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. McLaren Bay Region is an integral part of the 13-hospital McLaren Health Care system based in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Learn more at mclaren.org/bayregion.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $7.3 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 12 hospitals in Michigan, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 640-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 732,838 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. McLaren has 28,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Learn more at mclaren.org.