A nurse-managed special care unit.
The authors describe the first year of operation of a nurse-managed intensive care unit (ICU). Concerned with the problems, costs, and inadequacies of caring for long-term patients in traditional ICUs, nurse administrators designed a special care unit that incorporates a physical design facilitating family involvement and rehabilitative care, registered nurse case management, and a shared governance management philosophy. Compared with traditional ICUs, the effectiveness of the special care unit is tested in terms of patient and nurse outcomes. Implications of this innovation for health-care delivery systems and the nursing profession are discussed.
Daly
B J
BJ
University Hospitals of Cleveland, OH.
Phelps
C
C
Rudy
E B
EB
D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D005260:Female; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009820:Ohio; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*