But speedy computer terminals would not make their way to patients' rooms for several decades, marking the end of a simpler time. In 1973, Wanda learned most of what she needed to know during a two-week orientation. Today, patients having a heart attack or chest pain may stay on 7200 as little as one day. That's because cardiology has advanced to such a degree that technology can determine what part of the heart has been affected and how much it is damaged, and physicians can offer a cornucopia of medicines to restore function. Within months, the separate computer systems will be merged into one-making the unit one of the most advanced in the country.
Technology extends even to the families of patients as well.
Those near and dear to critically ill patients are issued pagers that extend across three states so that they can keep in close contact while out of the hospital. That's the same on all the intensive care units in the heart center. That's a lot of activity. Her staff knows her habits well. She plays with Scotch tape if a dispenser is anywhere near her, and her office is, well, a work in progress, a disheveled compilation of successes and headaches, overseen by big bottles of Tylenol crowning her computer monitor.