Local families credited with unit in Oak Lawn
The 16-bed unit, which hospital officials said will begin accepting patients Monday, will provide cardiac care for the growing number of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease, according to Advocate Aurora Health.
The children’s hospital is adjacent to Advocate Christ Medical Center.
Taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday were members of the Kent family, from Mokena.
Their daughter, London, now 4, underwent open-heart surgery when she was 3-months-old at the hospital, according to Advocate. The family, in appreciation of the care she received, created The Kent Family Fund to assist with the expansion of programs to support families of children undergoing care within the new ICU.
It is named The Busking Family Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and was made possible by a gift from another local couple, Joe and Pat Busking, according to Advocate. Their grandson, who had congenital heart disease, had received care at the hospital and underwent a heart transplant before his first birthday.
Advocate said the unit’s state-of-the-art technology includes a next-generation patient monitoring system that consolidates and analyzes patient data from multiple ICU devices onto one single screen.
Advocate noted that its Children’s Hospital was recently ranked 13th in the nation in pediatric cardiology and cardiovascular surgery by the publication U.S. News & World Report.
The ribbon-cutting event marked the completion of the project before patients are moved into the unit next week, according to Advocate officials, who did not disclose the cost of the project. Existing space in the hospital, 4440 W. 95th St., was converted for use as the new ICU.
Because of space constraints, heart patients would overflow into other areas of the hospital when the cardiac unit was full, according to Advocate officials. Having heart patients in the same unit puts them closer to specialized heart doctors and nurses, as well as being closer to surgical suites, according to Advocate officials.
At the ribbon cutting, Mike Farrell, president of Advocate Aurora Children’s Health, said that having a dedicated pediatric cardiac ICU is “unique to many children’s hospitals around the country.” The facility “complements our exceptional clinical care and reflects our vision to continue to grow as a world-class destination for pediatric heart care,” he said. “We are extremely grateful to the Busking Family for helping to make it a reality.”
Advocate officials said that its Children’s Heart Institute is one of the largest pediatric cardiology programs in the Midwest, performing nearly 19,000 procedures annually, including open-heart surgeries and cardiac catheterizations.
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