The Medical-Surgical Unit is where acute care patients spend the night at Mercer County Hospital. On the unit we serve adults and children who are hospitalized to receive medicines and treatments or who are staying for recovery from surgical procedures. These patients receive a frequent monitoring of vital signs or neurological checks, cardiac monitoring, IV fluid therapy or medications, pain control, and other services available 24 hours a day. Our unit has up to 20 beds of which most are semiprivate. Private rooms are available for patients requiring isolation or special treatments.

Our nursing staff has a wide variety of training and experience. Because we treat everyone from infants to elderly patients, we encourage our nurses to be lifelong learners. Nurses on "Med-Surg" work with many other professionals including doctors, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, physical, occupational and speech therapists, and respiratory therapists in developing a plan for care to fit each individual patient.

Although Mercer County Hospital's nurses manage highly technical and complex care situations, it is often the nurse's kind word, gentle touch, calming smile, or silent presence that make a real difference to our patients. Nursing care is based upon respect for the dignity and worth of every individual. We believe that each patient has the right to receive quality care based on individual needs and age. Patients and their families are involved in establishing priorities for care that best meet their needs.

Professionalism, caring, flexibility, and a commitment to continuous improvement are key qualities of our nursing staff. The goals of the medical surgical unit staff are high... to provide the efficient, quality, individualized and comprehensive nursing care to all of our patients.