The Cape Breton Regional Hospital is home to the second-largest Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the province. It also has a Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and an Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU).
The new department will be more than three times the size of the three existing units combined (from about 12,500 square feet to 40,000 square feet). The new space will have larger patient rooms, more privacy, and new, separate spaces for families. It will also provide teaching and research opportunities through simulation spaces for students and staff.
Other benefits include:
- Moving patients out of the emergency department (ED) and into critical care faster, reducing pressure on the ED
- Larger rooms with more privacy for patients and space for families to sit comfortably at the bedside
- Adding family and support rooms inside the units
- Improving work environment for doctors and staff with the three special care units under one roof
- Enhancing teaching and research opportunities with new conference and simulations spaces
- Improved layout, providing more natural light
- Limited disruption of services during construction (new build)