The Neurology/Neurosurgery/Neurorehabilitation Unit (12th floor) is a 28-bed unit. It includes nine CARF-accredited Neurorehabilitation beds. The unit provides care to children with a variety of neurologic, neurosurgical, and rehabilitation diagnoses. Included in this unit, is a 9 bed video-monitoring unit that allows for epilepsy/video-monitoring.
The purpose of this unit is to provide quality state-of-the-art patient care in a safe, cost effective manner, keeping the focus on the family as the center. The staff strive to assist each patient to return to his/her maximum potential for quality of life by recognizing family strengths and individuality, by respecting different coping mechanisms, and providing resources needed to assist the child and family as they transition to home and community.
Collaboration between family and professionals is encouraged in order to provide safe, effective, twenty-four hour patient care with an emphasis on achieving wellness, maintaining or improving function and preventing complications.
Patient Population
The population of the unit consists of patients ranging in age from newborn to adolescence. Acuity levels range from critical in nature to "observation only". The primary diagnoses include patients with complex and extended rehabilitation needs, brain tumor, selective dorsal rhizotomy, ketogenic diet, invasive EEG video monitoring, seizure disorder, ventriculo-peritoneal shunts, ICP monitoring, myelomenigiocele, Chiari malformation and the management of many other neurological and neurosurgical disorders. Patients with other medical conditions such as fever, sepsis, and asthma can also be cared for on this unit.
12th Floor Neuroscience Team
| Advance Practice Nurses |
Physician Assistants |
| Art Therapist |
Physical Therapist |
| Child Life Specialist |
Psychologists |
| Clinical Pharmacist |
Registered Dietitian |
| Horticultural Specialist |
Registered Nurses |
| House Staff Assistant |
Social Workers |
| Music Therapist |
Speech Language Pathologists |
| Occupational Therapist |
Utilization Review/Care Coordinator |
| Pastoral Services |
Volunteer Services |
| Patient Care Technicians |
|
| Physicians |
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The Manager, Assistant Nurse Manager, and Charge Nurse coordinate the patient care operation of the unit. There are a total of 67 staff on the 12th floor including the Nurse Manager, 1 Assistant Nurse Manager, Clinical Educator, 42 Registered Nurses, 23 Patient Care Technicians.
Leadership Team
The 12th floor has one Nurse Manager who is responsible for the overall operation of the unit. The Assistant Nurse Manager provides additional leadership support. The Clinical Educator assists all staff in their on-going clinical education and helps transition new employees into their newly acquired roles.
The 12th floor Unit Based Joint Practice Team was instituted in 2007 to facilitate collaboration in decision making regarding quality, safety, and family centered care. Representation is from various members of the neuroscience team as well as a family member.
Continuing Education
Each staff member attends a quarterly 12th floor Education day in which many topics are reviewed and new information is shared by experts to all staff. All nursing staff are credentialed in WeeFIM, a scoring tool used to assess function and track progress of patients on the Neurorehabilitation service. Many staff members attend local and national conferences and share their experiences with all staff via inservices or publication in a Nursing Newsletter. The 12th floor staff are also represented on the Shared Leadership Councils.
Nursing Achievement
The 12th floor has 16 nurses with Certified Pediatric Nurse certification, one nurse with Brain Injury Certification. 2 Master's prepared, 29 with BSN's with an additional 8 staff members currently in BSN programs. The Nurse Manager has completed certification in Nursing Administration. We have initiated PEARS certification to elevate the level of expertise in emergencies. PALS certification for charge nurses. In 2010, U.S. News & World Report recognized Neurology/Neurosurgery as 5th-best program in the nation. Nurses participate with other team members in community offerings such as Camp Independence for Cerebral Palsy patients.