Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Services

The ICU, or critical care staff at Baptist hospitals provides life support care for patients with severe illnesses or injuries, working with health professionals from various medical specialties to coordinate care specific to the patient's needs.

What is an Intensive Care Unit (ICU)?

Intensive care is a very complex and stressful environment for staff, patients, and relatives, as the critical care staff provides care for patients with severe illnesses or injuries such as organ failure, surgical complications, premature birth, strokes, cancer, trauma, and respiratory arrest.

What can I expect in an ICU?

Baptist ICU medical staff members are highly trained specialists who provide 24-hour care. A dedicated nurse cares for each patient and continually checks all monitoring equipment. Patients in ICU rooms may be connected to heart monitors, ventilators and other machines that let staff know if there is a change in condition. Because patients in an ICU hospital environment are very unwell, few visitors are permitted and typically restricted to immediate family members.

ICU Technology

Baptist ICUs are fully equipped to provide advanced intensive care, including mechanical ventilation (the use of a breathing machine to assist the patient's own breathing efforts or to take over the work of breathing for him or her). We also have the equipment to take over the function of the kidneys if these have failed. In fact, the renal replacement machines used for this purpose can be run 24 hours per day, seven days per week, if necessary.