post-anesthesia care unit

Savannah Ramsey, RN, and colleagues designed a series of interventions to reduce noise levels in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. One of those interventions is sound-dampening curtains around certain patient bays.

Nurse-led research helps usher in quieter PACU

At Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the post-anesthesia care unit, or PACU, is a hive of activity as patients are awakened from their operating room procedures. Given that each patient’s awakening is meant to be gentle, the general noise level in the PACU prompted concern from staff nurse Savannah Ramsey, RN.