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Children’s Minnesota Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit celebrates 10-year anniversary!

This April marks the 10th anniversary of the Edward J. Phillips Cardiovascular Care Center our Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU). After nearly five years of planning, on April 7, 2010, we transformed pediatric cardiovascular care in the Midwest by bringing all vital cardiovascular services to a single floor at our Minneapolis hospital. We care for more pediatric cardiovascular patients than any other program in the region and our outcomes are among the best in the nation.

Children’s Minnesota CVICU by the numbers

In the last 10 years

  • We’ve had 4,058 admits.
  • We’ve done 2,443 heart catheterizations.
  • We’ve performed 3,719 surgeries, including 4 heart transplants and 8 ventricular assist devices (VADs).

Growth in our program

  • We currently have 7 cardiac intensivists, 6 nurse practitioners, and 130 registered nurses.
  • We now have 34 beds for patients. We originally started with only 13 beds 10 years ago.
  • The floor was designed for families – we offer private rooms where families can stay overnight and be involved in rounds by listening and asking questions.
  • In 2018, we launched our heart failure and heart transplant program.
  • Thanks to generous donations in 2014, we built the Michael and Judith Wright Family Pediatric Simulation Center, and the Dr. Harold Katkov and Dr. H.K. Helseth, Jr. Cardiovascular Conference Center.

A message from Marc Gorelick, president and CEO

CVICU 10-year anniversary celebration

In April, Children’s Minnesota planned to celebrate the 10-year anniversary with different events but unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we had to make some updates. We are celebrating in different, smaller ways to recognize this milestone.
  • We added 10 hearts to the windows of our hospital to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the CVICU.
  • We came together (and stayed 6 feet apart!) to recognize the event.
  • We are asking you use the following hashtags on social media to help us celebrate: #CVICU10 #WeHeartOurPatients or #WeHeartOurCaregivers.

Children’s Minnesota Cardiovascular Program

At Children’s Minnesota we offer leading techniques for treating kids’ heart conditions plus a mega dose of heart in all we do. We provide a full range of cardiology services, from imaging tests to surgeries, from before birth into young adulthood. With more than 200 professionals from Children’s Minnesota and the Children’s Heart Clinic, we prioritize exceptional care, making our outcomes some of the best in the country.

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