Telemetry vs. Step-Down

In your opinion, what constitutes a telemetry unit and what constitutes a step-down unit?

I'm curious about what your personal experiences are in differing levels of care provided by a telemetry vs. a stepdown unit. In my experience, the definition and expectations vary widely from hospital to hospital.

I work on a unit that the hospital used to call stepdown/respiratory monitoring but now calls telemetry. The ratio is 3-1 for day and night shift. We care for post-surgical, trauma, medical, neuro and the occasional cardiac patient. We care for patients on BiPAP and on titratable cardiac drips such as Cardizem, amiodarone, nicardepine and nitroglycerin. Insulin drips are very unusual but acceptable. Vital signs are q4 hours unless actively titrating medications. All patients are on telemetry, which the nurses are responsible for monitoring. We do not care for patients on any pressers or on vents.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!