Intensive Care Unit Rooms

Though the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Progress West HealthCare Center looks like any other medical or surgical unit in the Hospital, its six rooms are actually a hub of activity where the sickest patients receive the highest level of care.

"Because our Hospital is focused on patient-centered care, we had to design a different ICU model that allowed us to make the family more involved in the day-to-day healing process," says Charles Lewis, RN, chief nurse executive at Progress West. "As a result, we have an ICU that doesn't look like the traditional ICU."

Non-Traditional Rooms
The rooms have all the high-tech equipment you would expect for a critical care unit, while still providing the large picture windows and personal touches that can help patients recover in a more pleasant environment.

"We realize how important the family is to the patient, and studies have shown that ICU patients do better when they have a family member present," says Lewis. "As a result, we have a sofa bed in the room so a loved one can stay overnight without restrictions. Patients and their families are very impressed with our ICU."

Experienced Staff
Because there are no centralized nursing stations -- workstations are in the patients' rooms -- the staff is more frequently at the patients' bedsides and able to respond immediately when a patient's condition changes.

"We may be new, but our physicians and nurses are not new to critical care medicine," says Justin Ranes, MD, pulmonary and critical care physician and medical director, ICU. "Our team has years and years of experience and is dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients in a pleasant environment."