Critical Care Nursing  - SSMC and TMVH
Critical care nursing is a blend of the art and science of nursing. The critical care nurse provides "high touch" care to patients and families within a "high tech" environment. As an integral member of the multidisciplinary healthcare team, the critical care nurse is an expert in assessment of patient/family needs, and evaluation of the care provided. The critical care nurse must be proficient in communication, assessment and technology skills.

Emergency Nursing - SSMC and TMVH
Unlike any other specialty in nursing, emergency nursing does not focus on a select disease process or age group. SSHS emergency nurses are educated to have the ability to care for any patient, any age, with any illness or injury at any time within a multidisciplinary, multispecialty team.

Geriatric Nursing  - SSMC
The Geriatric Inpatient Unit reflects the commitment of SSMC to the geriatric population it serves, both the individual and the long term care facilities within the community. Nurses manage patient's illnesses through education, joint decision-making and sensitive communication working towards maximizing the patient's comfort and recovery. Working closely with family members, they help patients maintain function and a high quality of life.
 

The Helen and Michael Schaffer Extended Care Center at SSMC provides opportunities in both short term rehabilitation/sub acute care and skilled long term nursing care. SSMC long-term care nurses are members of an interdisciplinary team which offers education and other services to patients as well as families. They develop comprehensive plans of care for each patient helping them to function to the best of his/her ability in a warm and friendly atmosphere and assist in the preparation for discharge.

Level 3 Nursery - SSMC
The level 3 nursery provides state-of-the-art, expert care for premature, low birth weight or medically fragile infants. Nurses receive advanced training and work closely with neonatologists and parents to assure that babies receive the highest quality of care. A major focus of the unit is parental education, which helps parents learn to care for their child while in the unit as well as preparation for home

Maternal-Child Health Nursing - SSMC
Maternal-child health care is provided on the premise that the well-being of both mother and baby are interdependent as they adjust to multiple physical and psychosocial changes during the early post-partal and neonatal days. Thus, nurses are assigned to care for both mother and baby to increase continuity and quality of care.

Our newly renovated labor & delivery suites (LDR's) offer comprehensive obstetrical and neonatal care for women in labor in a single room. Our nurses are cross-trained to deliver care to the antepartum patient, during labor & delivery, postpartum patient and neonatal care to our tiniest population.

Medical Stabilization Unit - SSMC
The Medical Stabilization Unit (MSU) offers a detoxification program for people addicted to drugs such as alcohol, heroin, and cocaine. This is a voluntary program that is highly structured to educate the patient in the disease of addiction and to prepare him/her for rehabilitation. In a multidisciplinary setting, doctors, nurses, social worker, counselors and discharge planner work collaboratively. A background in mental health or substance abuse is an advantage for the individual who wishes to work in MSU.

Medical-Surgical Nursing - SSMC & TMVH
SSHS nurses caring for patients on medical-surgical units are actively involved with each member of the health care team in setting and attaining goals for patients. They help patients and families achieve the highest quality of life possible within the constraints of their disease.
Site specific subspecialties abound . . . wound care, endoscopy, joint replacement, renal disease, interventional radiology, diabetes as well as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Oncology Nursing - SSMC & TMVH
Expertise in Oncology nursing at SSHS begins with a deep sense of concern for all patients diagnosed with cancer coupled with the ability to individualize care for patients undergoing treatment and experiencing numerous side effects. For patients requiring inpatient services, physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses that have received advanced training provide ongoing monitoring and care. Some of the highly specialized procedures at SSHS include brachy therapy. SSHS patients can participate in a wide variety of national clinical trials providing access to new drugs or other treatment protocols that may improve their long-term prognosis or decrease the impact of the disease.

Outpatient Nursing - SSMC & TMVH
The outpatient setting is a wonderful opportunity for bilingual nurses with expert assessment skills to focus on patient education, chronic disease management, and reduction of unhealthy behaviors and disease prevention. Working with patients of any age with any conditions, the nurses of SSMC reach out and directly affect the health of our community.

Psychiatric Nursing - TMVH
Since 1992, the Behavioral Health Service of Mount Vernon Hospital has been dedicated to the provisions of a continuum of mental health services regardless of the patient's socio-economic status, race, religion, national origin, sex, or ability to pay. The service includes a short-term psychiatric inpatient unit of 22 beds, twenty-four hours a day emergency psychiatric evaluations, a consultation and liaison service at the Mount Vernon/Sound Shore sites, a partial hospitalization program and a continuing day treatment program. The inpatient unit service includes medical care; psychiatric nursing care; individual, family, and group psychotherapy; nutritional services; therapeutic activities; a therapeutic milieu; and comprehensive discharge planning.

Complementary Therapies - SSMC
Holistic Nursing embodies the importance of caring for the mind, body, and spirit in healing, and a such contributes significantly to the Complementary Therapy Program available to inpatients and outpatients. Holistic nursing is applicable to all aspects of patient care from ambulatory care to inpatient hospitalizations. Holistic nursing offers: therapeutic touch, imagery and relaxation techniques, reflexology and self-hypnosis.