There are times when a heart condition requires hospital care but doesn’t require intensive care support. Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital acute care cardiac unit is a step-down unit where patients receive care when they are well enough to leave intensive care but not well enough yet to go home.
In the acute care cardiac unit (sometimes referred to as a "cardiac step down unit"), our team provides excellent care to ensure that your child makes progress toward discharge in the most effective and efficient way possible. Our acute care cardiac unit provides specialized care within the heart center. Here, children who have undergone cardiac surgery or have cardiac conditions can receive intermediate care and monitoring.
After your child has undergone cardiac surgery and recovered in the intensive care unit, your child will still require close monitoring of vital signs and other aspects of their health. The unit is family centered, and all patients have private rooms with an extra bed for a parent to stay. The unit is staffed by dedicated, specialized cardiac care nurses.
Our acute care cardiac unit team is a multidisciplinary team that includes cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nurse practitioners, cardiac-trained nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, discharge coordinators, social workers, case managers and nutritionists. Every child’s challenges are unique and require individually tailored therapies across many different medical services and programs.
Acute care cardiac unit team