Telemetry at John C. Lincoln
In our Telemetry units, patients’ heart rhythms are monitored around the clock by nurses in the nurses’ station.
Patients may be admitted to Telemetry for a variety of reasons, such as congestive heart failure or heart arrhythmia problems. In other cases, patients are brought to Telemetry to help determine whether they have experienced a heart attack.
To monitor heart rhythm, pads are placed on both of a patient’s shoulders and on either side of the rib cage. These pads are attached to wires that connect to a box, which transmits data to the monitoring system.
At the nurses’ station, a technician continuously watches the monitors for any change in heart rhythm. If a change is detected, the nurse is alerted immediately.
As in our Progressive Cardiac Care Units (PCCU), patients in Telemetry may also undergo cardioversion, TEE or tilt-table testing. Most patients stay on the unit for three to four days.
In some cases, patients may be admitted to Telemetry for heart monitoring even though their main illness is not heart-related. For example, patients suffering from kidney failure may require monitoring because their potassium levels can become abnormally high, which can lead to heart failure.
At John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital, the Telemetry units are located on the 4th floor of Pavilion 1. At John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, they’re located on the 5th and 6th floors.