Department of Nursing Services
Philosophy
The Department of Nursing Services recognizes CARE as the core of nursing practice and the essence of the nurse/patient-family relationship. We truly care for our patients and recognize the essence of integrating cultural needs in health care. Our philosophy is based on Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity & Universality.
C = Clinical
Our nursing staff renders nursing care using the best available evidence based research, appreciative inquiry and patient safety while meeting cultural needs.
A = Administrative
Our resources, infrastructure and guidance enables every member of the nursing staff to be a proactive leader and patient advocate in rendering quality care.
R = Research
Our nurses are advocates for conducting research at the bedside using current benchmarking tools. Nursing research serves as a foundation to implement care which will restore patients' and family's health and/or end of life care.
E = Education
Our nurses practice in a dynamic, diverse teaching and academic medical center. We believe an educated patient can actively engage in a partnership with the healthcare team to achieve wellness. Downstate Medical Center is the only teaching academic center in Brooklyn. Our nurses are at the center of an educational institution which promotes their professional growth.
Clinical Services
- Neuroscience/Neurology Service
- Orthopedic-Rehabilitation
- Women and Children's Service
- Medicine
- Psychiatry
- Emergency Department
- Surgery
- Cardiac & Vascular
- Critical Care
- Dialysis & Transplant
- Perioperative
- Ambulatory Care Service
Neuroscience/Neurology Service
The Neuroscience/Neurology service consists of newly renovated clinical units with state of the art technology and equipment. A dynamic interdisciplinary team assists the patients to recover to optimum wellness. Our units are:
A four bed Epilepsy Monitoring unit which cares for patients with seizure disorders using current research and treatment modalities, a two bed Sleep Apnea unit which cares for patients with sleep disorders, a four bed Stroke unit and a four bed Neurosurgical Step-down unit which provides acute care to postoperative neurosurgical patients. All nurses are specially trained to provide safe and competent care to the patients in these clinical units.
A twenty three bed Neurological/Gynecological unit cares for patient with medical surgical/neurological/gynecological disorders. All nurses are highly trained to provide safe and competent care to the patients in a these clinical units. Ongoing interdisciplinary collaborative seminars provide education and application of current trends in the treatment of patients with neurology complications.
Orthopedic-Rehabilitation
The Orthopedic Rehabilitation service is a 22 bed unit which focuses on patients with orthopedic problems requiring joint replacement/reconstructive surgery and postoperative orthopedic surgical care. The rehabilitation portion provides treatment and training to post-operative orthopedic patients as sell as patients from all other areas of the hospital and the tri-state area. Postoperative surgical patients receive ongoing rehabilitative care. Ongoing communication with the interdisciplinary team fosters a seamless operation in the care of orthopedic-rehabilitative patients.
Women and Children's Service
Our clinical units include a newly renovated state of the art 29 bed Neonatal Intensive Care unit which is a regional referral center for premature babies and newborns with medical/surgical problems. Our neonatal transport service receives ill newborns from neighboring hospital that require tertiary care. Our nurses are highly trained in neonatal nursing and work within a collaborative and cohesive atmosphere.
The Obstetrical unit features a four bed antepartum testing unit, nine Labor/Delivery Recovery rooms, three bed observation area, 2 operative delivery rooms and one post anesthesia care unit. In addition, we have a seven bed triage unit which treats patients with obsteterical medical surgical emergencies. Our thirty three bed rooming in Mother-Baby unit promote 24 hour access to family bonding. The nurses in the obstetrical service are highly skilled and are able to care for challenging high risk patients who require intricate care.
The Children's Center of Excellence consists of a five bed Pediatric Intensive Care unit which cares for infants to children sixteen years of age with various medical surgical problems. Our twenty one bed pediatric medical and surgical unit cares for infants to young adults. Our Pediatric Asthma Center and Pediatric oncology units provide treatment modalities based on the latest research and current trends.
Medicine
The Medical service consists of a thirty seven bed and a thirty three bed unit. Ten telemetry beds are designated for cardiac patients. Patients on these units have diagnoses related to: cardiac, dermatology, endocrine, gastrointestinal, respiratory, infectious, oncology and pulmonary disorders.
Psychiatry
The Psychiatry unit is a thirty four bed locked voluntary and involuntary unit licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health. Adults eighteen years and above are admitted with various psychiatric disorders. The unit promotes mental health through interdisciplinary team planning which focuses on supporting the patient to return to the community in optimum wellness.
Emergency Department
Our newly renovated and still expanding Emergency Department experiences 55,000 visits per year. Our fast track system cares for patients with minor emergencies while our acute care area focuses on patients with life threatening problems. Our expanding pediatric emergency center cares for neonates to young adults. Our nurses are certified in Trauma nursing, Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advance Life Support.
Surgery
The surgical service encompasses two areas: an eighteen bed surgical acute unit for patients recovering from endocrine, vascular otolaryngology, plastic surgery and a four bed Step down unit for intensive monitoring. In addition, there is a three bed respiratory acute care unit.
Cardiac & Vascular
Our rapidly expanding cardiac and vascular center provides inpatient and ambulatory services which include cardiovascular surgery, vascular surgery, interventional vascular surgery, interventional cardiology and interventional radiology and non invasive cardiology. Our Cardiac Catherization suite encompasses a five bed acute post procedure suite and an eight bed recovery area. Our Interventional radiology has two areas designated for interventional procedures which include angioplasty/angiograms studies, nephrostomy and dialysis procedures. A new state of the art 14 bed Interventional Radiology Post Procedure Suite is near completion.
Critical Care
The critical care service encompasses four specialized areas. A nine bed Cardiothoracic intensive care unit cares for immediate post open heart surgical patients and our seven bed Coronary Care unit cares for patients recovering from myocardial infarction, and other cardiac vascular disorders. In addition, a ten bed Medical Intensive Care unit cares for patients with medical surgical complications requiring intensive monitoring and an eight bed transitional Step down Cardio thoracic unit cares for patients who are stabilized and require continuous monitoring.
Dialysis & Transplant
Our new and expanded state of the art Ambulatory Kidney Dialysis center serves all adults and pediatric acute and chronic renal failure patients who require hemodialysis. Twenty stations are designated for adult patients and 4 stations are designated for pediatric patients. We have a six bed inpatient hemodialysis unit, and two bed pediatric unit for acute hemodialysis patients who are unstable. Our sixteen bed inpatient transplant service cares for stabilized postoperative transplant patients. Our nurses are highly skilled and are part of a dynamic team which fosters continuing growth through education and collaborative relationships with other health care team members.
Perioperative
The perioperative suite encompasses three specialized areas to provide care to the diverse needs of our population. The Ambulatory Suite consists of the Pre Admission testing unit, Pre-Operative five bed unit for adults, three bed unit for pediatric patients, and a six bed Ambulatory Surgery Post Anesthesia Care unit. Areas of surgery include vascular, orthopedics, otolaryngology and ophthalmology, genitourinary, gynecological procedures. Our three procedure room Endoscopy Suite performs diagnostic and therapeutic gastrointestinal, and/or hepatic procedures. The main operating room consists of 12 operative suites which performs cardiothoracic, vascular, transplant, neurosurgery, orthopedic, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, and urology, gynecological and oncological surgery. We are in the process of implementing robotic surgery for patients with urological problems. The nine bed Post Anesthesia Care unit provides care to immediate postoperative surgical patients.
Ambulatory Care Service
The ambulatory care suite focuses on prevention, wellness and treatment for patients in the community. Our health care team sees an average of over one thousand patients a day in the medical, surgical, pediatric, asthma, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology, transplant, urology, ophthalmology, otology, oncology suites. We also provide health care at our satellite clinics located in Bedford Stuyvesant, Flatbush, and Crown Heights' area. Our nurses are highly trained in community health nursing and provide continuous care as they work with multitude of patients with diverse health conditions.