Inpatient Units

Inpatient care for pediatric cardiology patients and cardiac surgery patients takes place entirely within the Stanford Medical Center. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH) is part of Stanford Medicine, and Lucile Packard Children’s is connected to the Stanford Hospital (adult hospital and clinics on all levels). Labor and Delivery and the newborn nurseries are directly adjacent to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit in Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Our operating rooms are in Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, are the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and the step-down unit, Acute Cardiac Care Unit (ACCU). Newborns and infants diagnosed with heart disease are admitted to the NICU with care coordinated between neonatal intensivists and consult care by cardiac intensivists. Post-operative cardiac surgical patients are cared for in the CVICU, then move to ACCU until discharge. Medical patients are cared for in the NICU, PICU, CVICU or in ACCU as appropriate. Support services such as the echocardiography laboratory, pediatric radiology and the inpatient pharmacy are all within 2 floors of the in-patient units.

Acute Cardiac Care Unit  (ACCU)

The Acute Cardiac Care Unit (ACCU) has 26 beds with imminent plans to expand to 32-beds and a combination of cardiovascular surgery and cardiology patients and pediatric solid organ transplant patients. The unit cares for patients with a variety of cardiac conditions and modalities, including pediatric heart-lung transplant; ventricular assist devices such as the Berlin heart, HeartWare, and HeartMate; and pediatric and adult cardiovascular surgery. In addition, the unit is capable of taking on overflow patients from other services.

Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)

The Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) is committed to providing world class pediatric cardiac critical care for patients with congenital and acquired heart disease. The unit provides an interdisciplinary environment that includes cardiac intensivists, surgeons, cardiologists, advanced practice providers, nurses and respiratory therapists. Patients range from premature and low birth-weight infants through older adult survivors of congenital heart disease. Patient complexity and acuity are amongst the highest in the nation.  As part of the largest heart failure center on the West Coast and one of the busiest heart transplant programs in the nation, the CVICU admits patients with end-stage heart failure, with some patients ultimately requiring mechanical circulatory support and/or transplantation. Several specialty centers including Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction, Bloodless Cardiac Surgery, and Cardiogenomics yield referrals from across the nation and world.

To meet the ever-increasing patient population requiring high level support, the CVICU continues to expand with a capacity of 36 patient beds, making it among the largest cardiac intensive care units in the nation. To ensure optimal outcomes for critically ill patients outside of the CVICU, a team of cardiac intensivists form a consultation service that co-manages any child with cardiac disease requiring intensive care outside the CVICU.  The team has focused on improvements in peri-operative care of neonates in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) while also providing critical care services to patients in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Emergency Department. Ongoing CVICU collaboration with the NICU and PICU, as well as Adult Congenital, Heart Failure, and general cardiology continue to strengthen the clinical and educational opportunities for providers and trainees.