POTSDAM -- The newly renovated Critical Care Unit at St. Lawrence Health System’s Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH) is now up and running. This construction project had been underway for five months.

The unit now includes additional square footage to accommodate for two new patient rooms, up from the previous four beds.

“All rooms were purposefully designed with full-view sliding glass doors, medical supply carts, and built-in wall workstations that collapse to minimize space when not in use. Three of the six rooms are equipped with patient lift assist systems. To ensure that unique patient needs are met, one of the six rooms has been designed as a negative-pressure quarantine room, but can be used for any critical care patient,” said a news release from SLHS.

“There is one nurse to every two Critical Care patients,” Critical Care Unit Coordinator Jennifer Moore said in a statement from SLHS. “The nurse’s station is located directly in the middle, with three patient rooms on opposite sides. The nurses monitor the patients directly in front of them, and can see through to those rooms from the station.”

“The majority of the Critical Care patients come from the Emergency Department and we work collaboratively with our Level III Trauma Center specialists,” Moore said in the release. “It’s not just a new space, it’s a new standard of care. Our team continuously monitors and cares for patients with critical-level diagnoses until their condition is stable enough to transfer to inpatient status. Most often we see patients presenting with acute respiratory distress syndrome, trauma, hypertension, sepsis, shock, and post-operative intensive care.”

The unit is also updating its critical care beds with Stryker InTouch Beds, which are equipped with wireless technology capability, compatible with the hospital’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system, allowing for future bedside documentation. In addition, the technology offers more advanced bed angle options, reducing the need for manual repositioning, and notifies staff if a patient safety risk, such as a fall, is likely to occur, according to SLHS.

Visitors will need to use the wall-mounted call button to gain access to the newly relocated unit on third floor for “safety and security reasons,” SLHS said.