JOPLIN, Mo. —
As it stands now, Freeman Hospital West would be hard-pressed to find enough beds in its intensive-care unit (ICU) if a serious, multiple-injury accident were to occur.
That will change on Monday when Freeman opens its 12-bed transitional-care unit (TCU), which will operate like a step-down ICU. Operation of the unit, which is located between the hospital’s cardiology beds and its ICU, will create 31 new jobs.
The TCU, the first of its kind in the Four-State Area, was unveiled today in a news conference at Freeman West.
The TCU will provide care to patients who are too ill for the medical floor, but whose conditions are not severe enough for the ICU.
Paula Baker, chief clinical officer at Freeman, said the hospital’s 40-bed ICU has been operating near capacity since the May 22 tornado.
“Freeman has better positioned itself to care for a larger number of the critically ill or injured,’’ she said.
The ICU has a 1:2 nurse-to-patient ratio. The TCU has a 1:4 nurse-to-patient ratio. On the medical floor, a nurse will serve five to six patients.
Jeff Carrier, chief nursing officer at Freeman, said critical-care patients that are transferred to the unit will have to meet strict standards before that transfer can happen.
When the unit opens on Monday, approximately six patients will be transferred from the ICU to the TCU, said Allen Overturf, director of critical care and cardiology at Freeman.
