Development of a surgical/trauma intermediate care unit

During these times of escalating health care costs and increased demand for critical care beds, hospitals are often unable to provide the intensive level of nursing care that is required. One large urban trauma center found that 36% of the surgical intensive care unit patients required a level of nursing care intermediate between the intensive care unit and the general ward. A multidisciplinary team met to plan and develop a surgical/trauma intermediate care unit to provide this level of care. Goals, objectives, specific admission, discharge criteria, and administrative responsibility were determined. An educational program was developed based on a needs assessment of the staff. During the implementation phase and throughout the unit's operation, advanced practice nurses performed an integral role as resource personnel. The purpose of this paper is to describe the multidisciplinary process used in the development of a new unit and to highlight the advanced practice role in this activity.