BILLINGS – A newly renovated wing at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings will make treatment easier and more comfortable for the hospital’s littlest patients.
The former Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the hospital was one room with five beds. There were just sheets to separate each patient, which nurses said could be extremely difficult on families.
The new unit has five separate rooms, with plenty of room for family members to be with their loved one. The rooms not only have state-of-the-art medical equipment, but also a private bathroom, small bed and sitting area for families.
The rooms are also now wired for telemedicine, meaning a camera can connect the patient with doctors from Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, allowing children to receive care from specialists without having to leave the state.
St. Vincent was the first hospital in Montana to have a PICU staffed by board-certified pediatric intensivists at all times, which they said was able to drastically reduce the number of patients who had to go out of state for treatment.
The $3.2 million renovation project was funded through the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation.
