LOS Improvement Focus
The BWH/Youville Vent Program
To better establish an acute rehabilitation continuum beyond the walls of BWH, relationships have been reinforced with the Youville Vent Unit. BWH Pulmonologist Christopher Fanta, MD, has been appointed director of the joint BWH/Youville Vent Program, which provides BWH-directed pulmonary and critical care physician consultation seven days a week for vented and other respiratory patients referred and transferred to the Youville Rehabilitation Center.
“With state-of-the art ventilator and monitoring equipment and a dedicated team of specialists, we are prepared to provide high-quality care to patients ready to leave the ICU of a tertiary referral hospital but still in need of intensive rehab services, including vent weaning, physical and occupational therapy, and nutritional support…in short, an environment for gradual recovery and return to a functional status,” said Fanta.
Clinical admission criteria for the BWH/Youville Vent Program have remained the same, with all patients required to have the potential to wean within eight weeks. The program can manage up to 12 vents, with dialysis, chest tube management and complex wound care available as needed for all patients.
Brochures explaining the BWH/Youville Vent Program are currently being developed for patients and their families. Fanta is also available to meet and discuss the program with BWH inpatients, who are considering transfer to Youville. In addition, BWH inpatient information is now accessible online at Youville to the BWH intensivists practicing there, and ICU staff are working to integrate a representative from the Youville Admissions Office into ICU rounds.
A video about Youville will soon be available through the BWH television network. For additional information about the BWH/Youville Vent Program, contact Fanta (cfanta@partners.org).