Neurocritical Care Unit Opens at D-H

From left: Charles Plimpton, MBA, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Board of Trustees; Jeffrey Cohen, MD, Neurology Department Chair; Indie LeClair, RN, Neurocritical Care Unit Nurse Manager; Maria Padin, MD, Chief Medical Officer; Edward Stansfield, MA, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Board of Trustees; Selma Bornstein; Karen Clements, RN, Chief Nursing Officer; and Joanne Conroy, MD, CEO and President. 

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center  (DHMC) in Lebanon opened its Neurocritical Care Unit, which will allow DHMC to care for acutely ill patients who require advanced neurologic services and will also provide additional training opportunities for clinicians in this growing field of health care.

The 10-bed unit allows DHMC to offer higher levels of post-surgery care and treatment required for patients with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and vascular abnormalities such as aneurysms.

“This unit is an important addition to Dartmouth-Hitchcock because it fills a significant care void in our region, and it enhances our ability to expand our training programs,” says Chief Medical Officer Maria Padin, MD. “In addition to training clinicians and residents in intensive neurologic care, the new unit will also help us in our journey to include fellowship programs.”

D-H Neurology Department Chair Jeffrey Cohen, MD, says neurological care has become far more sophisticated, and requires more advanced post-surgery care, with different monitoring and evaluation.

“The Neurocritical Care Unit allows us to provide specialized care for stroke patients and after patients undergo therapeutic procedures. We also treat many neurological diseases that require critical care, and we will be able to provide round-the-clock electroencephalogram monitoring [of the electrical patterns in patients brain]," says Cohen. "For this type of care, nurses and advance practice providers who have specialized skills are incredibly important.”

Cohen says the Neurocritical Care Unit team will also be engaged in TeleICU with D-H Connected Care and Center for Telehealth, providing expert guidance and advice to other ICU facilities via state-of-the-art video conferencing.

For information about Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurology, visit www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/neurology.