Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU)

Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU)

The Johns Hopkins Burn Center, located at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center has a rich history that dates back to 1968. Founded by the Kiwanas, the Burn Center remains the first and only burn center in the state of Maryland. Since its inception, the Johns Hopkins Burn Center has been verified by the American Burn Association (ABA). In 2006, it was reverified for another three years by the ABA. Today, the Burn Center serves the citizens of Maryland, as well as the surrounding states.

The Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU) is a ten-bed adult critical care unit designed to provide comprehensive care for the burn patient who may have surgical needs or some type of trauma. BICU patients require highly skilled nursing care, which includes close observation and the use of extensive monitoring equipment; and may require extensive burn and wound care, mechanical ventilation, and potential end of life care. The level of care in the BICU may range from highly skilled nursing, intermediate care or routine nursing care. A Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is assigned to the Burn team and provides educational and clinical support to staff. The CNS is responsible for the orientation of new staff, for ongoing mentoring and education as well as support in evidence based practice and new technology.
 

A Multidisciplinary Approach

The multidisciplinary team in the BICU consists of intensivists, physician assistants, burn and plastic surgeons, and critical care nurses. The team is trained in advanced burn life support, surgery and trauma care of adult patients. Other multidisciplinary services include:

• Respiratory therapy
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Dietary services
• Pharmacy services
• Social work
• Case management
• Clergy services
• Psychologists
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Palliative care
• Infectious disease
• Ancillary support

Special teaching rounds are done on a weekly basis as part of the Johns Hopkins Medicine mission to provide teaching and research to advance the science of medicine. The multidisciplinary team, shares their knowledge and ideas during rounds to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.

Additionally, the Burn Center is committed to the community outreach, which is provided by an extensive Burn Outreach Program, lead by Carrie Cox, RN, MS and supported by the burn nurses and therapists. This program focuses on burn prevention, burn management and recovery. Through this program, a partnership has been formed with the United States Air Force to educate its medical personnel regarding all facets of burn care from the acute phase to rehabilitation. Other outreach programs include: educating healthcare professionals in local emergency rooms and first responders regarding burn treatment, and by accepting referrals from other hospitals.
 

Patient Population

The BICU's patient population includes, but is not limited to:

• Burn care
• General surgery
• Trauma services
• ENT
• Ophthalmology
• Renal
• Orthopaedic surgery
• Vascular surgery
• Urology
• Plastic surgery
• Thoracic surgery
   

Nursing Orientation

Nursing orientation to the BICU is highly individualized and tailored to the education, experience and training needs of the nurse. The new graduate nurse orientation program is available biannually (February and July) and includes a more-extensive, six-month orientation.

Educational Opportunities:

• Annual critical care skills and competency training
• Hospital-wide and unit-based educational offerings and inservices
• Shared decision-making unit council
• Advanced Burn Life Support
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support
• Advancement in Clinical Excellence (ACE) Program
• Trauma offerings (16 hours biannually)
• CCRN preparedness
• Critical care conferences

Scheduling:

• Nightingale/Intragale scheduling on the Web (accessible from any computer)
• Self-scheduling
• Holiday packages
• Weekend alternative
• Limited day/night rotation
• Flexibility with shifts
   

Research

The Burn Center is dedicated to the pursuit of evidenced based research regarding patient care. Examples of research studies include:

• HIF-1 Regulated endothelial Progenitor Cell Recruitment in Burn Wound Healing (Principal Investigator: J. Harmon, MD)
• Molecular Characterization of Burn Colonization (Principal Investigator: J. Zenilman, MD)
• Evaluating Nucleic Acid Amplification to Diagnose Bacteremia in Patients with Severe Burns (Principal Investigator: J. Zenilman, MD)
• Prospective Evaluation of the Effects of Topical Therapy with Sulfamylon for 5% topical solution on autograft healing in subjects with thermal injuries requiring meshed autografts: a comparison to a historical control group (Principal Investigator: S. Milner, MD)