Patient Care and Technology

From the new pharmacy equipment that dispenses more than 12 million medication doses a year to the world's smallest heart pump to help critically ill cardiac patients, Aultman patients know they're in the right place for cutting-edge technology.

New Pharmacy
Aultman opened a new pharmacy in March 2009. Aultman is one of the first U.S. hospitals to operate an automated inpatient pharmacy system that covers everything from medication storage, physician ordering and patient delivery to dispensing and restocking.

The technology, which is based on bar codes of everything from patient ID bands to their medications, ensures the right medication and right dosage is dispensed for the right patient.

In addition to improving medication accuracy and patient safety, the new technology also improves efficiency within the pharmacy. Click here to check out the Aultman Pharmacy video.

World's Smallest Heart Pump
Aultman Heart Center offers high-risk patients a new option to treat cardiac disease. Aultman cardiologists clear blocked arteries of critically ill patients using the Impella Circulatory Assist Device, which is the smallest heart pump on the market. The device gives Aultman cardiologists a better treatment option for patients experiencing advanced cardiac failure or shock in recovering from heart attack or other insult/injury. It is implanted in emergency situations and then removed when the heart regains function several hours later.Aultman is the only Northeast Ohio hospital to offer the Impella - and one of about 150 hospitals nationwide to have adopted the technology.


ICU Modernization Project
In October 2009, Aultman began a major construction project to modernize and expand the intensive care units. The new unit will include 20 Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) beds, 18 Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) beds and 10 Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) beds. Improvements include larger patient rooms with expanded family space, updated technology and enhanced security features.

Intensive care patients at Aultman are treated by "intensivists," specialists who are board-certified in critical care medicine or pulmonology. Additional members of the Aultman Intensivist Team include specially trained critical care nurses, pharmacists and respiratory therapists. The advantage of the intensivist team is that all caregivers know what the care plan is for the patient, avoiding issues that can arise when one physician treats one organ system and another doctor treats a different area independently.

The MICU modernization is slated to be complete in the fall of 2010. The SICU and PACU projects should be finished in the summer of 2011.