Care for Critically Ill Patients

You can help heal some of our sickest patients in our cardiac units and our medical-surgical, neurology and burn intensive care units

A career in critical care nursing at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network is exciting and challenging. At Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, you have the opportunity to work in award-winning specialties, such as our stroke center, Burn Center or intensive care units. You will use the leading-edge technology to ensure you patients have the best care when they need the highest level of care. Learn about our critical care nursing specialties.

Treating Burn Patients

Our Regional Burn Center at LVH-Cedar Crest is one of only seven burn centers in Pennsylvania, and the only one the Lehigh Valley. We care for about 400 pediatric and adult burn patients each year, as well as patients with major skin disorders who require the Burn Center’s special environment.

As a burn care nurse, you will offer critical care, rehabilitation and support for patients with severe burns and other skin conditions that require an isolation area to prevent infection and help wounds heal. You will work closely with burn patients and their families, as well as physicians, physical therapists, respiratory therapists and other nurses. In addition to providing wound care, you will educate patients and families about their treatments and recovery, practice pressure therapy and help educate the community about burn prevention.

Critical Care for Stroke Patients

Our Stroke Center at LVH-Cedar Crest and LVH-17^th and Chew streets is the first hospital in the region and the second in Pennsylvania to be named a Primary Stroke Center from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Nationwide only 14 hospitals have earned this distinction. Our critical care nurses who are members of our Stroke Rapid Response Team will help treat patients suffering from a stroke with a clotbusting drug within 80 minutes of their arrival. Nurses also participate in clinical research studies on promising new therapies for stroke patients.

Medical-Surgical Intensive Care

As a critical care nurse on our medical-surgical intensive care unit, you will care for medical, surgical, neurological and trauma patients in need of high-level care. Patients often require ventilator support, hemodialysis, continuous renal replacement therapy and the use of specialty beds. Procedures at the bedside often include gastrostomy, bronchoscopy and endoscopy. You may care for one or two patients at a time, depending on how sick they are.

Neuroscience Intensive Care

On the neuroscience intensive care unit you could care for patients with a variety of conditions that require high-level care. These include patients who have neurological disorders, have received kidney and pancreatic transplants or have received vascular, abdominal and orthopedic surgeries. Patients may also suffer from community acquired pneumonia, acute stroke and congestive heart failure. You may care for one or two patients at a time.

Trauma-Neuro Intensive Care

As a critical care nurse on the trauma-neuro intensive care unit, you will care for patients who have been seriously injured as a result of vehicle collisions, being hit by a vehicle, falls and sports. These patients’ injuries often are complex, requiring special skills to care for neurological, spinal and organ injuries. Their families, as well, require special care and compassion. Depending on how sick patients are, you could care for one or two at a time.

Care for Heart Surgery Patients

At Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s Regional Heart Centers, located at LVH-Cedar Crest and LVH-Muhlenberg, critical care nurses care for patients after they have received cardiac, thoracic and major vascular surgeries.

Consider Our Critical Care Float Pool

If you’re unsure which critical care specialty is right for you, or attracted to more than one, consider our critical care float pool. You could be assigned to the following units, depending on where your expertise is needed during a particular shift:

• Trauma-Neuro Intensive Care Unit
• Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit
• Burn Center
• Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

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