Since 1982, when the history of the Intensive Care Unit of the Pediatric Hospital Octavio de la Concepción de la Pedraja began, year after year it has consolidated its work until reaching its 41st anniversary in 2023. That is why the month of September has a special meaning for its group.
I visited this service for the first time in 2019, on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the service and what caught my attention was the hectic pace all the time of its staff, like hard-working ants focused on their purpose and the vigilance of nursing professionals and intensivists for even in very complex cases to find a way to reverse critical and severe states of the smallest and thus rescue from death on average about 95 out of every 100 patients admitted there.
intensive care ward, pediatric hospital, Holguín
The history of this service dates back to September 17, 1982, an event witnessed by the late Dr. Luis Manuel Guerrero Rodriguez. At that time it was an honor to interview the man who for more than three decades was the head of this ward, being considered a pioneer of intensive care in Holguín.
Thanks to that opportunity, the professor, as many affectionately called him, explained to me that the therapy services in Cuba were created as a result of the terrible dengue epidemic in the early 80’s and that the inauguration of this therapy was attended by Cuban heroine Melba Hernandez and the mother of Octavio de la Concepcion de la Pedraja.
It was precisely in this way that in the foundational moments, at the same time that the assistance to the serious patient was developed, the training of the personnel that would work there in the future was assumed as a challenge, making all kinds of efforts to restore the compromised health of those who arrived to this service.
Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Hospital, Holguín
This ward, which provides medical assistance to patients from one month old to 19 years old, has a capacity of about ten beds and a multidisciplinary team ready to assist them. Each bed is equipped with mechanical ventilation, cardiorespiratory monitors, perfusion syringes, infusion pumps, electrocardiographs, electrocardiograms, electroencephalographs and a laboratory equipped with the necessary elements for the proper care of these children.
intensive care ward, pediatric hospital, Holguin
Patients from Holguín and from most of eastern Cuba who come to this service are admitted in serious and critical condition, with multiple pathologies ranging from clinical to very complex ones, therefore all of them are at high risk for their lives, hence the importance of the quality of care, medical and nursing attention. A multidisciplinary team made up of medical, non-medical and support personnel, such as technicians, is involved in restoring their state of health.
Another achievement of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is the survival rate of ventilated patients, which generally exceeds 85 percent every year. This refers to those cases that arrive in a more critical condition and therefore require artificial respiration equipment, which is why they are at the greatest risk of death due to their condition.
Countless lives have been saved there, and many of them are now adults and have families, an example of the extensive but complex work that is being done. Such results are achieved with daily work in this closed ward, which demands a greater share of sacrifice from the 60 or so workers who make up the staff.
The workers of this hospital ward have witnessed many difficult hours in its more than four decades of existence, but the satisfaction of having contributed to saving the life of a child is enough to keep going and provide a better service.
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