Our preoperative and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) is part of the surgery program at Children's Minnesota Minneapolis Hospital. Children's surgery centers are the first and only in Minnesota to be verified as a Level I Children's Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Children's Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program. Achieving Level I verification is the highest level of distinction for health systems that perform complex surgical procedures in newborns, children and teens. In addition, Children's Minneapolis is a Level 1 designated Pediatric Trauma center.

In our surgery center, we care for children ranging from fetuses and infants to young adults requiring a wide variety of procedures. While operating room and anesthesia teams care for patients during surgery, our Minneapolis preoperative/PACU team cares for all patients and their families before and after surgery. We provide care to patients undergoing a variety of procedures, including general surgery and dental/oral, gastroenterologic, neurologic, orthopedic, ophthalmologic, otolaryngologic, thoracic, urologic, plastic and reconstructive, robotic and trauma procedures, as well as cardiac and cancer treatments. Many patients have been in our hospital previously and have complex medical conditions. We care for patients coming to surgery from an inpatient unit as well as those requiring admission to the hospital postoperatively.

All nurses on our team are registered nurses with previous critical care experience and have the opportunity to work in all areas of the unit, including preoperative, Phase I and Phase II . Our team also includes a clinical support associate and unit operations coordinators who are vital members in the flow of patients through our perioperative care continuum. In order to provide critical Phase I care, our patients are monitored on a one-to-one basis after transfer from the anesthesia/operating room team.

Families are our essential partners as we work with them to ensure postoperative success and optimal healing after discharge from our outpatient area. We value a collaborative working relationship with our patients and families, the perioperative team and all departments and roles in the hospital. We embrace an environment that encourages learning and professional growth. Our team is committed to providing excellent care to our patients and families.