Intensive Care at Home

https://intensivecareathome.com https://intensivecareathome.com/intensive-care-home-what-we-are-all-about/ INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME What We Are All About Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to share a presentation that I’ve given as part of being at the Melbourne health accelerator program at the Royal Melbourne Hospital https://www.melbournehealthaccelerator.com/ You can learn more about how our service operates and you can find out more INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME what we are all about! You can see the presentation in the video here or you can read the transcript here I have a question for you. What would you do if you had a family member in intensive care for a month, for two months, for three months? What would you do? So we think that Intensive Care At Home is for those patients is the right approach. It’s an innovative alternative to an ICU bed. Our mission, really, is to provide specialised care to long term, ventilated, intensive care patients in the comfort of their own home. What is INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME? So what is Intensive Care At Home, and what are we all about? It was founded by myself, in 2012. We only work with qualified critical care nurses, who have a minimum of two years ICU experience. Most of them have a critical care certificate as well. We provide quality and safety, just like you do in an intensive care unit. We provide peace of mind to you, to the intensive care unit, as well as to patients and families. And most of all, for you, we relieve pressures on the health system, and on the in-demand intensive care beds in particular. So who are we? We are experienced people with accreditation. So, myself, I’ve worked in intensive care for nearly 20 years, in the UK, in Germany, and in Australia, and I bring this model to Australia. Intensive Home Care nursing with Critical Care trained nursing staff! So again, our nursing staff are experienced in critical care nursing, with the appropriate training and certification, and again, that includes a minimum of two years intensive care experience, and most of our staff have a critical care certificate. We hold accreditation, ISO 9001 accreditation for intensive home care nursing services, and we are also accredited against healthcare standards. Third party accreditation to manage quality, safety and standards! So what are we all about? Again, quality and safety. Healthcare standards are important to us. Again, we have 3rd party accreditation for intensive home care nursing services and ISO 9001. Most of all, we partner with consumers, and that includes you, the hospital, but also our end users, which are patients and families. We engage with the appropriate medical expertise, which means our medical governance comes from intensivists, anaesthetists, paediatricians, respiratory physicians, as well as GPs. And, most importantly, to you the hospital, we work towards zero admissions back to intensive care. Peace of mind and a proven care model! We provide peace of mind. How do we do that? Patients and families have confidence in the specialised, 24 hour care that we deliver at home. The model has been proven in Australia, for now over three years, and it’s based upon a model that’s been working in Germany for the last 20+ years. Families of the patient return to a version of normality, by settling back into their communities, workforce, sporting clubs, etcetera. As you would know, if you have a long-term patient in intensive care, it not only impacts on the patient, it impacts on the families as well... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/intensive-care-home-what-we-are-all-about/

https://intensivecareathome.com/73-year-old-mom-stroke-intubated-intensive-care-cant-come-off-ventilator-breathing-tube-can-tracheostomy-go-home-intensive-care/ My 73 year old Mom had a stroke and is intubated in Intensive Care. She can’t come off the ventilator and the breathing tube, can she have a tracheostomy and go home and have INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to answer a question from one of our readers of our blog and the question this week is My 73 year old Mom had a stroke and is intubated in Intensive Care. She can’t come off the ventilator and the breathing tube, can she have a tracheostomy and go home and have INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME? Hi Patrik, my otherwise very healthy 73 year old mother had a stroke around 2 weeks ago. She is still in ICU in one of the big public Hospitals in Melbourne as she needs ventilator with pressure support and the breathing tube to help her breathe. The doctors haven’t given her much hope unless her breathing on her own improves. I am wondering if your service INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME can be an option for her? Just some more details and to shed more light on her current situation. Her CO2(=Carbondioxide) levels were getting high when her pressure support was down to 7 so they’ve put it back up to 8. CO2(=Carbondioxide) levels at the moment are fluctuating between 57-67 mmHg. She’s currently off all sedation and is getting more and more awake and she seems to be out of the induced coma by now. She’s responding and she has made it very clear that she wants to fight and that she wants to live! I was hoping to get the ICU to do a tracheostomy and then get her home with your INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME service if she can’t get off the ventilator soon. The doctors in the ICU were quite adamant that tracheostomy isn’t an option for her since the amount she is breathing at the moment isn’t enough to sustain life and they seem to have the opinion that most of the swelling in the brain would’ve gone down by now. Anyway, I was adamant with them about giving her time and they agree with that and are relaying my thoughts to the main ICU consultant on duty this week. They’re saying her breathing levels, the amount she’s taking in, isn’t high enough to sustain life. I.e. she’s taking in 200 mls and she needs to be at 400 mls per breath she’s taking. Also they’re saying no nursing home will take someone with a ventilator and I raised tracheostomy and ventilation at home as an option and they said it be highly involved with 24 hour care needed pretty much. Can you please let me know what our options are? Regards, Steve... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/73-year-old-mom-stroke-intubated-intensive-care-cant-come-off-ventilator-breathing-tube-can-tracheostomy-go-home-intensive-care/

https://intensivecareathome.com/tracheostomy-weaning-off-ventilator-intensive-care-long-can-take/ TRACHEOSTOMY AND WEANING OFF THE VENTILATOR IN ICU, HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to answer another question that we get quite frequently from our readers and also from clients who want to or take up our service INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME and the question this week is TRACHEOSTOMY AND WEANING OFF THE VENTILATOR IN ICU, HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE? It’s a great question to ask, especially for anyone who has a loved one in Intensive Care on a ventilator with tracheostomy whether it be an adult, child or even a toddler. Especially if you and your family have been putting your life on hold because your loved one stays in ICU/PICU or NICU for many weeks or months on end, you and your family need to ask this question and you need to look at genuine alternatives to a long-term stay in Intensive Care and we can offer you this genuine alternative to a long-term stay in Intensive Care with INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME! If your critically ill loved one has been in an induced coma and now has a Tracheostomy, there are several reasons, why your critically ill loved one required a Tracheostomy, most of the reasons for a Tracheostomy you’ll find are outlined in this blog post here “How long should a Patient be on a ventilator before having a Tracheostomy?” This blog post today, however gives you answers to how long it should take your loved one to be weaned off the ventilator and the Tracheostomy and it looks at genuine alternatives like INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME. A Tracheostomy is generally a straight forward procedure in Intensive Care and after the Tracheostomy has been inserted, generally speaking and in many cases, the weaning process for your critically ill loved one to come off the ventilator can be started immediately. That being said, keep in mind, your critically ill loved one has been placed in an induced coma so that they were able to tolerate the breathing tube. A Tracheostomy tube is much easier to tolerate for your critically ill loved so that they don’t need any sedation(drugs that make your loved one sleepy) for it... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/tracheostomy-weaning-off-ventilator-intensive-care-long-can-take/

https://intensivecareathome.com/3-year-old-ventilator-dependent-preemie-never-gone-home-intensive-care/ 3-Year-Old Ventilator Dependent Preemie Phalynn Graham has Never Gone Home from Intensive Care! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to share a story of a 3 year old child Phalynn Graham who has never left Intensive Care since her birth. 3-year-old ventilator dependent preemie Phalynn Graham has never gone home from Intensive Care Phalynn was born two months premature and her lungs therefore were never fully developed. She therefore has been ventilator dependent since day one of her young life and she also has a tracheostomy. With the work we are doing here at INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME we know that we can help Phalynn and her family by getting her out of Intensive Care and taking her home. There is no need to keep ventilated adults and children in Intensive Care for longer than necessary once they are medically stable. Here is Phalynn’s story 3-year-old preemie has never gone home How Ranken-Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in Maryland Heights has become her home away from home and given her family hope. Author: Mike Bush Published: 6:29 AM EST January 8, 2018 MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – At Ranken-Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in Maryland Heights, Missouri, some of the smallest people face the tallest challenges. But they often do it with a smile on their face. When 3-year-old Phalynn Graham is around you can save on electricity because she lights up the room. “We’ve all fallen in love with Phalynn,” noted Ranken-Jordan social worker Katie Luner. But kids are born in hospitals, they’re not supposed to grow up in one. She came into this world two months early and her lungs weren’t fully developed. Instead of getting attached to her mom, she was attached to machines. “We lost her dad when she was two months old so I haven’t enjoyed my baby because she hasn’t been home,” said Phaylnn’s mom Tarvarshay Graham through tears... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/3-year-old-ventilator-dependent-preemie-never-gone-home-intensive-care/

https://intensivecareathome.com/why-stephen-hawking-lived-a-good-life-until-76-on-a-ventilator-with-tracheostomy/ Why Stephen Hawking Lived a Good Life Until 76 on a Ventilator with Tracheostomy! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to share Why Stephen Hawking lived a good life until 76 on a ventilator with tracheostomy! Last month Stephen Hawking, the world-famous scientist passed away at the age of 76. Most people know that Stephen Hawkins had MND or Motor Neuron Disease which he was first diagnosed with at the young age of 21 when he was still at university. The diagnosis gradually paralysed him over decades until in 1984 he developed a Pneumonia. He ended up in Intensive Care and rather than prematurely ending his valuable and precious life, he ended up with a tracheostomy and became ventilator dependent for the majority of his remaining life. This required a different approach in his around the clock care he required going forward, in order to leave Intensive Care and improve his quality of life. Stephen Hawkins required 24/7 Intensive Home Care nursing and that’s what kept him alive for decades. Stephen Hawkins was an inspiration for many and he had many gifts to give to the world! Thankfully he was able to continue giving his gifts to the world because he was kept alive by mechanical ventilation and Intensive Care nurses! He was looked after 24/7 how anybody on a ventilator and tracheostomy needs to be looked after to stay alive and leave Intensive Care, with Registered Intensive Care nurses at home! Stephen Hawkins therefore was able to complete his life’s work and his life’s mission despite his perceived limitations! This is what we do at INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME. We give our clients and their families a chance to live a full life at home despite their perceived limitations! We get our clients out of Intensive Care faster, reduce the cost of an ICU bed by 50%, free up a highly sought after ICU/PICU bed and provide quality of life for our clients and their families! We do it according to best international practice the MECHANICAL HOME VENTILATION GUIDELINES and best practice clearly evidences that the only way ventilated Patients should leave Intensive Care and go home is with ICU nursing care... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/why-stephen-hawking-lived-a-good-life-until-76-on-a-ventilator-with-tracheostomy/

https://intensivecareathome.com/budget-2018-spinal-muscular-atrophy-drug-spinraza-nusinersen-to-be-added-to-pharmaceutical-benefits-scheme-in-australia/ Budget 2018: Spinal Muscular Atrophy Drug Spinraza (Nusinersen) to be Added to Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to share some good news that’s relevant for some of our clients in the community. Budget 2018: Spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza (Nusinersen) to be added to Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia! I know that some of our clients have been waiting for these great news as their kids have been getting the drug as part of a trial! Now Spinraza/Nusinersen is finally on the PBS scheme and affordable. Rather than paying $375,000 the drug is now available for $39.50 under the PBS scheme. You can read more about the good news here, it was first published on May 6th on the ABC news website and also in the Sydney Morning Herald http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-06/spinal-muscular-atrophy-spinraza-pharmaceutical-benefits-scheme/9731138 Children with a muscle-wasting condition called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) will get a new breakthrough drug for just $40, instead of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Key points: Access for life saving drug for genetic condition The drug Spinraza helps patients with spinal muscular atrophy More than $240 million to be allocated to fund the drug Health Minister Greg Hunt told the ABC from June 2018, Spinraza will be available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the treatment of Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3a SMA for all patients under the age of 18. “This will be both life-saving and life-changing for hundreds of young patients and their families,” he said. SMA is a rare, muscle-wasting genetic disorder that affects the motor neurons that control movement. The most severe form, Type 1, can cause respiratory problems, extreme weakness and early death. The disorder is the number one genetic killer in babies. ‘Mackenzie’s mission’ to improve screening and treatment In January 2018, Mr Hunt revealed his plan to the ABC to boost education, screening and treatment for genetic conditions. He called it “Mackenzie’s mission” after baby Mackenzie Casella, who died from SMA... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/budget-2018-spinal-muscular-atrophy-drug-spinraza-nusinersen-to-be-added-to-pharmaceutical-benefits-scheme-in-australia/

https://intensivecareathome.com/what-is-the-survival-rate-after-a-tracheostomy/ What is the Survival Rate After a Tracheostomy? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog, I want to answer another frequently asked question from our readers and clients and the question this week is What is the survival rate after a tracheostomy? Many families in Intensive Care come to us and they have this very question “What is the survival rate after a tracheostomy”? They often come to us with this very question when their loved one is on a ventilator with a breathing tube/endotracheal tube and can’t be weaned off the ventilator. If their loved one can’t be weaned off the ventilator and potentially needs a tracheostomy wanting this question answered only makes sense. Other crucial questions that also need to be answered when your loved one potentially needs a tracheostomy are the following (click on the links) How Long Can A Breathing Tube Or An Endotracheal Tube Can Stay In? HOW LONG SHOULD A PATIENT BE ON A VENTILATOR BEFORE HAVING A TRACHEOSTOMY? WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF A TRACHEOSTOMY? Why Would A Critically Ill Patient In An Induced Coma Need A Tracheostomy In Intensive Care? You might have heard me saying this before on this blog and I say it again because it is so important to understand! The most important goal for families in Intensive Care is to get their loved one off the ventilator and the breathing tube/endotracheal tube in the first place. A tracheostomy has its time and its place but only after all efforts have been maximised to get your loved one off the ventilator and the breathing tube/endotracheal tube. This is also being referred to as extubation (removal of the breathing tube)... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/what-is-the-survival-rate-after-a-tracheostomy/

https://intensivecareathome.com/when-can-a-tracheostomy-be-removed/ When Can a Tracheostomy be Removed? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In the last blog I shared DISCHARGING PATIENTS HOME FROM ICU POSES NO ADDED RISK! You can check out last week’s episode by clicking on the link here. In this week’s blog I want to answer a question that we get quite frequently from our clients and also from people all over the world that visit our website. When can a tracheostomy be removed? Many mechanically ventilated Patients in Intensive Care in an induced coma require a breathing tube/endotracheal tube to facilitate such mechanical ventilation during critical illness. The goal should always be to wean mechanical ventilation, get a critically ill Patient out of the induced coma, get them extubated (removal of the breathing tube/endotracheal tube) so that they can breathe spontaneously and unaided so that they can leave Intensive Care and eventually go home. If for whatever reason, weaning off mechanical ventilation and the breathing tube/endotracheal tube fails, a tracheostomy might be considered as a next step. When is the right time and right situation to do a tracheostomy? Here are articles and videos that will give you all the knowledge you need if your loved one should have a tracheostomy or not How Long Can A Breathing Tube Or An Endotracheal Tube Stay In? HOW LONG SHOULD A PATIENT BE ON A VENTILATOR BEFORE HAVING A TRACHEOSTOMY? WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF A TRACHEOSTOMY? Why Would A Critically Ill Patient In An Induced Coma Need A Tracheostomy In Intensive Care? Once a tracheostomy has been done, your loved one can hopefully take the first steps to wean off ventilation and tracheostomy! Once the ventilator has been weaned, then the next step is to remove the tracheostomy! How does ventilation get weaned when having a tracheostomy? Here are articles and videos that will explain it for you! HOW TO WEAN OFF VENTILATION AND TRACHEOSTOMY STEP BY STEP! TRACHEOSTOMY AND WEANING OFF THE VENTILATOR IN INTENSIVE CARE, HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE? In most cases, a tracheostomy is temporary, providing an alternative breathing route until other medical issues are resolved. If your loved one needs to remain connected to a ventilator indefinitely, the tracheostomy is often the best permanent solution... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/when-can-a-tracheostomy-be-removed/

https://intensivecareathome.com/what-happens-if-you-cant-come-off-the-ventilator-in-intensive-care/ What Happens if You Can’t Come Off the Ventilator in Intensive Care? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog, I want to answer another frequently asked question from our readers and clients and the question this week is What happens if you can’t come off the ventilator in intensive care? Today’s question is a question we get almost daily from our readers and it is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed. When Patients in Intensive Care can’t be weaned off ventilation, one need to distinguish between not being able to wean off a ventilator and the breathing tube or endotracheal tube or not being able to wean off the ventilator and tracheostomy. If your loved one can’t be weaned off ventilation and the breathing tube/endotracheal tube, it’s unlikely your loved one can go home with INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services, except in circumstances where your loved one faces an end of life situation, then we can provide palliative care at home for a “one-way extubation” and help your loved one and your family to have end of life services at home instead of Intensive Care! Therefore, end of life care can be provided in a much nicer and much more Patient and family friendly environment. If your loved one isn’t in an end of life situation, but is unable to be weaned off the ventilator and the breathing tube/endotracheal tube, please have a look at the following articles/videos here How Long Can A Breathing Tube Or An Endotracheal Tube Can Stay In? HOW LONG SHOULD A PATIENT BE ON A VENTILATOR BEFORE HAVING A TRACHEOSTOMY? WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF A TRACHEOSTOMY? Why Would A Critically Ill Patient In An Induced Coma Need A Tracheostomy In Intensive Care? If your loved one however has been ventilated for many days or many weeks and sometimes even many months and is unable to be weaned off the ventilator and the tracheostomy or if it is possible for your loved one to be weaned off the ventilator and the tracheostomy, but it takes much longer to come off the ventilator and the tracheostomy then you and your family should definitely consider bringing your loved one home with INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. Your loved one needs to be medically stable as well and needs to be off inotropes/vasopressors. Anything else can be managed at home. We can provide Intensive Care At Home services in the home full stop and get your loved one out of a depressing and sterile Intensive Care and hospital environment into the comfort of your own home... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/what-happens-if-you-cant-come-off-the-ventilator-in-intensive-care/

https://intensivecareathome.com/one-way-extubation-at-home-instead-of-in-intensive-care/ One-Way Extubation at Home Instead of in Intensive Care! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In today’s blog I want to talk about what many families in Intensive Care want when it comes to end of life for their loved one! One-way extubation at home instead of in Intensive Care! After having worked in Intensive Care for nearly 20 years in three different countries, where I also worked as a Nurse Unit manager in ICU for over 5 years I have learned a thing or two about what families in Intensive care really want but don’t get in Intensive Care! Many Patients in Intensive Care that approach their end of life and are on mechanical ventilation with a breathing tube/endotracheal tube will need to be extubated (removal of the breathing tube/endotracheal tube) at some point. Once those Patients have the breathing tube/endotracheal tube removed they will inevitably approach their end of life because of their incurable and life limiting critical illness. This is often a rather confronting, unpleasant and undignified procedure, especially in the confines of a sterile and non-family friendly Intensive Care environment. Not only do families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care need to come to terms with the imminent passing of their loved ones, they also don’t get given a choice where this “one-way extubation” and in essence end of life situation will take place. Many if not most families in Intensive Care would like this “one-way extubation” to be performed at home rather than in Intensive Care! This is certainly what I learned in nearly 20 years Intensive Care nursing experience. This makes perfect sense simply because families in intensive care want to make informed decisions, they want peace of mind, control, power and influence, period! Families in Intensive Care want end of life situations for their loved ones at home in a more Patient and more family friendly and therefore holistic care environment! Furthermore, 75% of people in first world countries want to die at home and yet, less than 15% actually do approach their end of life at home! There is a total mismatch in what people want and what they’ll get when it comes to end of life situations in intensive care... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/one-way-extubation-at-home-instead-of-in-intensive-care/

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-a-person-be-weaned-off-a-ventilator-and-tracheostomy-at-home/ Can a Person be Weaned Off a Ventilator and Tracheostomy at Home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In today’s blog I want to answer a question that we get quite frequently Can a person be weaned off a ventilator and tracheostomy at home? The answer to this question somewhat depends but in most cases Patients on long-term ventilation and tracheostomy can be weaned off it at home. If you look at long-term ventilation and tracheostomy in Intensive Care and you look at the high average length of stay, the high cost, the burden for Patients and their families as well as the lack of quality of life for Patients and their families it should be a ‘no-brainer’ that Patients should be weaned off ventilation and tracheostomy at home instead of a sterile Intensive Care environment! The average length of stay for long-term ventilated Patients in Intensive Care generally speaking is 50 days plus and not all Patients can be weaned off ventilation and tracheostomy. The cost is enormous with $5,000 per bed day in Intensive Care and everybody knows that Intensive Care beds are in high demand and scarce! Furthermore, the lack of quality of life for Patients and their families in Intensive Care is obvious! This can be changed in an instant when Patients on ventilation with tracheostomy go home and get similar care with Intensive Care nurses coming into their home 24/7 and with the medical oversight of an Intensive care specialist or a group of intensive care specialists. Most long-term ventilated adults & children with tracheostomies and their families are wanting to continue treatment at home wherever possible. This just stresses the fact that the hospital environment is shifting towards a more holistic, Patient and family friendly environment that also provides a way more cost- effective solution compared to a $5,000 per bed day Intensive Care bed! The evidence clearly suggests that going home from Intensive Care for weaning off ventilation and tracheostomy is possible when services are performed according to the MECHANICAL HOME VENTILATION GUIDELINES You can read the MECHANICAL HOME VENTILATION GUIDELINES here... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/can-a-person-be-weaned-off-a-ventilator-and-tracheostomy-at-home/

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-tpn-total-parenteral-nutrition-be-given-at-home/ Can TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) be Given at Home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to answer another question that we get quite frequently from our readers and clients Can TPN (total parenteral nutrition) be given at home? A question we get quite frequently by our readers and also by our clients is if intravenous nutrition, also known as TPN (total parenteral nutrition) can be given at home? The short answer is yes. Let me elaborate. TPN or Total Parenteral Nutrition is intravenous nutrition that can only be given via a central venous catheter (CVC) or via a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line. Fairly often Patients in Intensive Care have to be nil by mouth (NBM) for situations like intubation, abdominal surgery, ileus (bowel obstruction), Nasogastric or PEG feed intolerance to name a few. Whenever nasogastric feeds or PEG feeds can’t be given to meet nutritional demands, TPN or total parenteral nutrition needs to be given via a central venous catheter (CVC) or a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line in order to meet nutritional demands. There can sometimes be a 24 hour time window between stopping PEG or Nasogastric feeds and commencing TPN depending on the availability of TPN. Sometimes Pharmacy needs to prepare TPN first. Once TPN has been commenced, regular blood tests including the check for blood Glucose and Electrolytes needs to be monitored. A new TPN intravenous giving set needs to be used every 24 hours to maintain infection control standards. A new TPN giving set needs to be attached... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/can-tpn-total-parenteral-nutrition-be-given-at-home/

https://intensivecareathome.com/side-effects-of-long-term-ventilation-at-home-and-in-intensive-care-or-ltac/ Side Effects of Long Term Ventilation at Home and in Intensive Care or LTAC Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to make a comparison that most long-term ventilated Patients and their families can resonate with Side effects of Long Term Ventilation at home and in Intensive care or LTAC Anybody who has ever had a loved one in intensive care (or long-term acute care/LTAC) on long-term ventilation with tracheostomy knows about the undesired side effects. Intensive care units also know about the side effects of having Patients in intensive care that are a slow ventilation and slow tracheostomy wean. Let’s just take a Patient who has Guillan Barre syndrome and therefore requires mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy and a prolonged stay in intensive care for prolonged ventilation and tracheostomy weaning. After I have worked in intensive care for 20 years in three different countries, I have seen a few Guillan Barre syndrome Patients that stayed in Intensive Care for ventilation and tracheostomy weaning for way too long. Especially with a successful and proven concept such as INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME, intensive home care would have been a much better alternative. So what are the side effects of weaning a Guillan Barre syndrome Patient off mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy in intensive care as opposed to weaning a Guillan Barre syndrome Patient off mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy at home? I’m glad you’ve asked... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/side-effects-of-long-term-ventilation-at-home-and-in-intensive-care-or-ltac/

My Husband has been in ICU 4 Months, He Needs TPN and has a Tracheostomy. Can He Go Home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-be-discharged-from-hospital-with-ventilator-tracheostomy-and-feeding-tube/ Can You be Discharged Home from Hospital with Ventilator, Tracheostomy and Feeding Tube? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to answer a question that we get quite frequently from our readers and also clients Can you be discharged home from hospital with ventilator, tracheostomy and feeding tube? Many families in intensive care have loved ones in ICU/PICU with long-term ventilation and tracheostomy requirements. Their loved ones usually experience either difficulties, delays or complete failure in weaning off the ventilator and tracheostomy. What are the reasons for mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy? Causes of admission to ICU/PICU for mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy are: acute respiratory failure with underlying chronic co-morbidities 176 (24.4%); exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 222 (34.4%); neuromuscular diseases 200 (27.8%) (i.e. Guillan Barre syndrome, Motor neuron disease or MND); surgical patients 77 (10.7%); thoracic dysmorphism 28 (3.8%); obstructive sleep apnea syndrome 16 (2.2%). Percutaneous tracheostomies were 65.9%. Major complications after tracheostomy were 2%. 427 tracheostomies were evaluated for decannulation: 96 (22.5%) were closed; 175 patients (41%) were discharged with home mechanical ventilation; 114 patients (26.5%) maintained the tracheostomy despite weaning from mechanical ventilation and 42 patients (10%) died or lost. Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20122822 Tracheostomy in patients with long-term mechanical ventilation: a survey. Further to this reference above, what leads to prolonged mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy and then the ability to wean a critically ill Patient off the ventilator eventually are the inability to wean somebody off the ventilator. This often begins with prolonged induced coma, intubation (insertion of the breathing tube), breathing tube/endotracheal tube and the failure to extubate (removal and the breathing tube). Generally speaking intubation for respiratory failure leads to induced coma, mechanical ventilation and this also goes hand in hand with a nasogastric tube (NG tube) for feeding. Again, if weaning off the ventilator and the breathing tube (extubation) can’t be achieved, the next step is to perform a tracheostomy! When is the right time to perform a tracheostomy? Here are some articles and videos for you to answer that question How Long Can A Breathing Tube Or An Endotracheal Tube Can Stay In? HOW LONG SHOULD A PATIENT BE ON A VENTILATOR BEFORE HAVING A TRACHEOSTOMY? WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF A TRACHEOSTOMY? Why Would A Critically Ill Patient In An Induced Coma Need A Tracheostomy In Intensive Care? When a tracheostomy is done, a PEG tube or feeding tube also known as gastrostomy is done as well. A PEG is a permanent feeding tube through the abdominal wall into the stomach. Nevertheless it is often doctors and family preference whether a PEG tube is inserted or a nasogastric feeding tube is left in place to continue feeding. Anybody on a ventilator with either a breathing tube or tracheostomy is unable to eat orally, hence the nasogastric feeding tube or the PEG feeding tube. In either case with a tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation and feeding tube a patient can definitely be discharged home with a service like intensive care at home. Mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy and feeding tube is definitely not an obstacle for intensive home care... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-be-discharged-from-hospital-with-ventilator-tracheostomy-and-feeding-tube/

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-live-on-a-ventilator-and-tracheostomy-with-a-good-quality-of-life/ Can You Live on a Ventilator and Tracheostomy with a Good Quality Of Life? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In the last blog I talked about WHAT IS LONG TERM HOME VENTILATION? You can check out last week here. In this week’s blog I want to answer another question that we get quite frequently Can you live on a ventilator and tracheostomy with a good quality of life? More and more Patients (adults and children) survive complicated critical illnesses and hence lengthy stays in intensive care on mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy. Some of those adults and children can be successfully weaned off ventilation and tracheostomy and others can’t. For some adults and children, mechanical ventilation and tracheostomies are simply a bridge to get them better, weaned off both devices and then they move on to their path of recovery without life support. For others, mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy are an issue they need to deal with long term and beyond intensive care or ICU. If that’s the case the question inevitably arises if one can live on a ventilator and tracheostomy with a good quality of life? The answer to it is quite simple and we know from our clients that it’s a clear yes. Picture yourself or your loved one in intensive care (ICU) or in LTAC (long-term acute care for our US readers and clients) with a ventilator and tracheostomy and you or your loved one are unable to be weaned off ventilation or it may take much longer than anticipated. You or your loved one won’t have quality of life in an institution such as a hospital intensive care unit or LTAC but you can have a good quality of life at home with 24/7 professional and highly skilled intensive care nurses coming to your home. These ICU/PICU nurses are familiar with ventilation and tracheostomy as well as them... Continuation... https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-live-on-a-ventilator-and-tracheostomy-with-a-good-quality-of-life/

https://intensivecareathome.com/education-days-at-intensive-care-at-home-for-our-nursing-staff-to-keep-delivering-a-high-quality-service/ Education Days for our INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME Nurses to Continue Delivering a High Quality Service! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In this week’s blog I want to talk about how we maintain quality, keep our staff up to date with training and education and therefore how we safely manage to keep our clients out of Intensive Care or get them out of Intensive Care in the first place. Education days at INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME for our nursing staff to keep delivering a high quality service! Part of working with a specialised INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME nursing service is to maintaining quality and safety aspects, so that our clients can go home from ICU/PICU or stay out of ICU/PICU if they are at home already, so they can be safely looked after at home! Besides being the first and as of June 2019 the only 3rd party accredited service in Australia that has accreditation and certification to provide Intensive Home Care nursing for ventilated Patients at home, we take safety for our clients and their families very seriously! Besides having a minimum of two years ICU/PICU experience, all of our staff go through annual training such as an ALS (Advanced life support) or BLS (Basic life support) courses! These are our minimum qualifications that staff need to have, however the reality is that we currently employ over 200 years ICU/PICU experience, therefore making us and our specialist skills the leading service in Australia when it comes to long-term ventilation with tracheostomy at home. Some of the training we are providing is in-house or we engage external providers to facilitate such training and maintain and improve the skills of our critical care registered nurses. Such training days are also a good opportunity for our staff to get to know each other. The reality of running a remote intensive care at home service is also that staff only see each other at handover time. Sometimes staff haven’t met each other at all because they work with different clients! Therefore the training days are fantastic opportunities to get to know other team members! Last month we had such training days for our nurses and we engaged Karena Hull a very experienced Intensive Care nurse to run the accredited course. Karena is running her own training organisation “resus ready” and we had the pleasure of Karena providing advanced resuscitation training with our very talented and skilled critical care nurses from Intensive CARE AT HOME. We also invited some of our clients to one of the training days so they could feel more comfortable and reassured when they are at home with their loved ones and our nurses to respond appropriately in case their family member has a medical emergency... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/education-days-at-intensive-care-at-home-for-our-nursing-staff-to-keep-delivering-a-high-quality-service/

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-advocate-for-my-daughter-to-get-24-7-icu-at-home-because-shes-on-ventilation-with-tracheostomy/ Can You Advocate for My Child to Get 24/7 ICU at Home Because She’s on Ventilator with Tracheostomy? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare Hi it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME where we provide tailor made solutions for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomies by improving their Quality of life and where we also provide tailor made solutions to hospitals and Intensive Care Units to save money and resources, whilst providing Quality Care! In the last blog I talked about The surprising truth about Australian hospitals — we don’t need so many You can check out last week’s blog here. In today’s blog I want to answer a question from one of our readers. Can you advocate for my daughter to get 24/7 ICU at home because she’s on ventilation with tracheostomy So in this short video, I want to answer a question from one of our readers Denise. So Denise writes, I’m currently receiving services from a company, and I’m not going to mention the company in Sydney, Australia. They provide registered nurses in the home for my daughter Stacy for 16 hours daily. My daughter Stacy is ventilated with a tracheostomy and she’ needs 24 hours a day intensive care nursing because that’s what she needs and would get if she was in ICU. I’m looking because I would like to receive coverage for 24 hours daily. I’m at work during the day and then I have to get up at night to provide care for my daughter Stacy. I have to suction her, I have to change her brief and have to turn her so she’s not getting pressure sources, etc. According to the company that I’m using, there is a shortage of nurses who want to work in home care because the hospitals and nursing homes pay more. At least that was, that is what the company’s saying. They’re having a hard time recruiting nurses. There are several of my shifts that are open even though she has to been approved for 16 hours daily. I have seen on your website that you provide care up to 24 hours a day with intensive care nurses. And I have also seen that you’ve advocated for other clients to get funding. I would be really interested to find out more about how you do that and what are the chances that you could do the same for us. My daughter at the moment is funded through the NDIS, which is a government funded program. There is no way that I can personally afford to pay privately for these services. As you might imagine, our lives have been pretty tough. There have been times that I couldn’t work because I had to care for my daughter. If I was independently wealthy, this wouldn’t be a problem. Too bad. There is not a wealthy benefactor somewhere who is empathetic to our plight and could help. My daughter’s care has become much more involved and complex since January. This last hospitalisation she suffered a stroke under the eyes of the hospital staff, but fortunately, God is great and she’s recovering due to his grace. The experience is emotionally very draining. She is my only daughter and I have dedicated my life to caring for her. Most people are born with trisomy 18 pass away at a very young age, but this one she’s a miracle girl and we are blessed for each day that we have her. Thank you for taking the time to respond... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/can-you-advocate-for-my-daughter-to-get-24-7-icu-at-home-because-shes-on-ventilation-with-tracheostomy/

https://intensivecareathome.com/intensive-care-at-home-is-hiring-icu-picu-nurses-in-melbourne-frankston-mornington-peninsula-warragul/ INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME is hiring ICU/PICU nurses in Melbourne, Frankston, Mornington Peninsula(Bittern, Balnarring, Mornington) and Warragul/ Leongatha area. Minimum requirement is two years ICU/PICU experience, ideally with a critical care certificate. Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensive care at home where we provide tailor made solutions for long-term ventilated adults and children with tracheostomies and where we also provide tailor made solutions for hospitals and intensive care units to save money and provide quality care. So this is a video for intensive care nurses and pediatric intensive care nurses because we at intensive care at home are hiring you. If you’re an ICU or a pediatric ICU nurse and you have a minimum of two years ICU experience, we want to hear from you. We currently have vacancies for our clients in the Melbourne metropolitan area on the Morning Peninsula as well as in the Warragul area. Specifically, we have vacancies in Mornington (Bittern, Balnarring) but also in Patterson Lakes as well as in the Warragul and Leongatha area. So we want to really hear from you. So what do we exactly do you may wonder if you haven’t heard of intensive care at home before. So we’re really proud to know that we are the first accredited intensive care at home nursing service in Australia. We have a proven, innovative, safe, and robust third party accredited framework to deliver intensive care at home nursing care, which enables us to look after the highest acuity and the sickest patients in the community in Australia. This is a proven model that is quickly and fast revolutionizing health care and intensive care at a rapid speed, and we are creating value for patients, families, ICU’s and pediatric ICU’s, hospitals and funding bodies alike. The intellectual property we have built for intensive care at home nursing services enables us to attract the best, most motivated, enthusiastic, and most amazing ICU and pediatric ICU nurses. Intensive care at home is therefore in a position to employ a team with hundreds of years ICU and pediatric ICU experience which is giving us the ability to look after more and more long-term ICU and pediatric ICU patients at home, which has formally been unheard of in Australia until 2014. So this is really in a nutshell of what we do. Our clients are mainly long-term ventilated with tracheostomy, but we also have otherwise medically complex clients that need an ICU nurse or a pediatric ICU nurse 24 hours a day to keep them at home safely so that they don’t go back into ICU and their families obviously benefit from that as well. So again, if you’re an ICU or a pediatric ICU nurse, we want to hear from you because we are hiring ICU and pediatric ICU nurses in the Melbourne metropolitan area, specifically on the Mornington Peninsula as well as in the Warragul and Leongatha area. So I leave my details below this video and I would really like to hear from you. Take care for now. This is Patrik Hutzel from intensive care at home and I’ll talk to you in a few days... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/intensive-care-at-home-is-hiring-icu-picu-nurses-in-melbourne-frankston-mornington-peninsula-warragul/

My Dad had a Stroke, Pneumonia & is in ICU, Ventilated with Tracheostomy, Can He Go Home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare

https://intensivecareathome.com/can-my-son-go-home-from-icu-with-bipap-ventilation-and-tracheostomy-he-has-als-and-hes-a-co2-retainer-help/ CAN MY SON GO HOME FROM ICU WITH BIPAP VENTILATION AND TRACHEOSTOMY? HE HAS ALS AND HE’S A CO2 RETAINER, HELP! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare In today’s video blog, I want to answer another question from one of our readers, Ellen and Ellen sends an email and Ellen is in Melbourne, Australia. Ellen asks Can my son go home from ICU with BIPAP ventilation and tracheostomy? He has ALS and he’s a CO2 retainer, help! Hi Patrik, My son has a tracheostomy and is in ICU. He does well without ventilation support for 12 hours with carbon dioxide or CO2 in the range of 37 to 47. My question is, can he be managed with BiPAP at home over night? My son is 36 and he has a history of retaining carbon dioxide, which has improved over time. My son was diagnosed with ALS about eight months ago. He walks with assistance with a cane and he has been in the hospital now for two months. He went with low sodium, elevated CO2 up to 57 and elevated blood pressure. He was unmonitored for awhile and passed out, and he had to be intubated on three different occasions before he went into ICU long-term. Hence with the ventilation, he also got hospital acquired pneumonia with klebsiella and pseudomonas. He got over it in the end. He had a tracheostomy about two months ago, and he’s doing well without a ventilator now for over 12 hours. The ICU feels he may need to stay in ICU for quite some time until he’s completely weaned off the machine. I, on the other hand, believe that home ventilation and intensive care at home is appropriate with BiPAP instead. Please advise what your options are. Ellen Hi Ellen, Thank you, Ellen, for sending this email and clarifying your son’s situation. It’s what the ICU is telling you is very old fashioned and it’s sort of, they’re stuck in what they’ve been doing for decades and it’s clearly not working. Of course, your son can go home and should go home with intensive care at home nursing rather than staying in ICU for the next few months until he supposedly comes off the ventilator. Now with ALS, I think there’s a high chance your son may need ventilation for quite some time to come as it’s usually a progressive disease. Can BiPAP be done at home overnight? Absolutely, yes. We could also monitor his CO2 either with a monitor or even with blood gases that we could take from the ear. So there’s a number of ways to manage your son at home safely, either with just overnight nursing care, but I believe your son will need 24 hour nursing care because if he’s stuck in ICU 24 hours a day, he will need ICU and intensive care at home 24 hours a day and we can provide that for you. So, the BiPAP will most likely get his CO2 down because that’s what BiPAP usually does. And now that it’s 37 to 47. It’s not too bad, but you know, usually below 38 is better consistently. So here is where our model of care fits in really in this with the ICU as well. You know, your son can’t go to a hospital ward because the hospital wards can’t look after ventilation and tracheostomy. Can my son go home from ICU with BIPAP ventilation and tracheostomy? He has ALS and he’s a CO2 retainer, help! So the only really option for your son to be weaned off the ventilator safely instead of an ICU is at home. We’re sending ICU nurses into the home 24 hours a day. So we’re basically providing an intensive care substitution service that has a lot of advantages for the hospital and the ICU as well... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/can-my-son-go-home-from-icu-with-bipap-ventilation-and-tracheostomy-he-has-als-and-hes-a-co2-retainer-help/

https://intensivecareathome.com/my-husband-has-been-in-icu-for-six-weeks-ventilated-with-tracheostomy-hes-depressed-i-want-him-home-can-he-go-home-with-intensive-care-at-home/ My husband has been in ICU for six weeks, ventilated with tracheostomy! He’s depressed. I want him home, can he go home with intensive care at home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare So in today’s question, Myrna is asking My husband has been in ICU for six weeks, ventilated with tracheostomy! He’s depressed. I want him home, can he go home with intensive care at home? Hi Patrik, my husband has a tracheostomy and he’s been in ICU since the 6th of January, which is now coming close to six weeks. He’s weaning off the ventilator and the tracheostomy very, very slowly. He has poor muscle tone and very poor and minimalized movement due to all the medicines he was given while he was in an induced coma. I would really like to bring him home with intensive care at home. He’s getting depressed, he’s not able to talk at the moment because of the tracheostomy and the ventilation. I need advice how to get him home. Is it the best option and so forth? From Myrna. Hi Myrna, thank you so much for writing in and contacting us. So this is the prime example Myrna for how intensive care at home can improve the whole situation for your husband, for you, but also for the hospital and for the intensive care units and provide a win-win situation. So he’s been in ICU for six weeks. He’s weaning off the ventilator very slowly by the sounds of things, which is not unusual at all because you know, he was in an induced coma and with all the sedation and the pain medication he’s had whilst he was in the induced coma, it takes time to wake up. It doesn’t take a lot of time to lose all the muscles which is what’s happened in your husband’s situation. You know, he hasn’t probably been mobilized properly, hasn’t been getting out of bed yet. And of course he’s losing muscle tone and that doesn’t help him to wean off the ventilator at all. And of course he’s getting depressed in ICU, no natural daylight, disturbed day and night rhythm. It’s a foreign environment, doctors, nurses making noise all the time, can’t sleep, can’t rest, you know, it’s not the right environment. My husband has been in ICU for six weeks, ventilated with tracheostomy! He’s depressed. I want him home, can he go home with intensive care at home? And on top of that, it’s very expensive. An ICU bed, as you’re aware, costs five to $6,000 per bed day and your husband quite frankly, doesn’t need to be there. The only thing that you haven’t mentioned is whether he’s on inotropes or vasopressors. But as soon as he’s off inotropes and vasopressors, he can go home with the service like ours where we send ICU nurses into the home 24 hours a day to provide a genuine alternative to a long-term stay in ICU or what’s called an ICU substitution service. We can set up home care for you, you know, getting all the equipment ready. We’re very experienced in that. We’ve done it, you know, dozens of times for our clients getting home care ready, getting a roster in place, 24 hours, same place with the right nurses. You know, we’ll get you involved in the staff selection process. We’ll only send you the nurses that you make a good connection with. What’s really important at home as well. You know, he would go back to a normal day and night rhythm. He’s in his own environment and quite frankly, we’d be much less depressed because you know, his quality of life and your quality of life will improve big time, when you’re at home, it’s just your natural environment... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/my-husband-has-been-in-icu-for-six-weeks-ventilated-with-tracheostomy-hes-depressed-i-want-him-home-can-he-go-home-with-intensive-care-at-home/

https://intensivecareathome.com/my-15-year-old-daughter-has-been-in-picu-since-october-last-year-she-cant-come-off-the-ventilator-tracheostomy-i-want-her-home-please-help/ My 15 year old daughter has been in PICU since October last year. She can’t come off the ventilator & tracheostomy. I want her home, please help! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare Today I want to answer and other questions from one of our readers, Katie. My 15 year old daughter has been in PICU since October last year. She can’t come off the ventilator & tracheostomy. I want her home, please help! So Katie sent an email and she writes in, Hi Patrik, my 15 year old daughter, Jessie has been in the pediatric intensive care unit since October, 2019 due to a seizure emergency colon surgery, pneumonia, blood clots and eventual tracheostomy. We are trying to get her home but she will need to be on a ventilator 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She also has tracheostomy and bronchial malacia. I would like to know what areas in Australia do you provide services in? We are in Sydney. Also, what types of insurance do you accept or who is paying for the service, because we can’t afford to pay for it privately. The hospital doesn’t seem to be of much help for us with who’s going to pay for the service. When we’re at home Jessie suffers from a rare disease called mucopolysaccharidosis. This is a disease that is characterised by the body’s inability to make a specific enzyme. It is a progressive disease that currently has no cure. The doctors just feel that the Tracheomalacia in her airway is the direct consequence of her having the mucopolysaccharidos. Jessie was also intubated in October and didn’t receive her tracheostomy until November. Please help us. We can’t stay in the pediatric ICU forever. Many thanks from Katie. Hi Katie, thank you Katie for writing in and for sharing your daughter’s situation. So number one, we are providing services in Sydney, there is no issue around location. We are providing services outside of the big metropolitan areas, Sydney and Melbourne in country Victoria for example, or country in new South Wales. And we can also provide services or we are providing in Sydney. So metropolitan areas obviously are much easier for us than the rural or country areas. So there’s no issue there. In terms of your daughter being in the pediatric ICU since October last year, there is no issue from our end taking her home as long as she’s not on inotropes or vasopressors. You haven’t mentioned any of that. And I think it’s very unlikely that she is still on inotropes or vasopressors. So going home with a tracheostomy and ventilation even though she needs to be ventilated 24 hours a day, that’s bread and butter for us. Why is it bread and butter for us? Well, we are all intensive care nurses with a minimum of two years ICU experience. As a matter of fac, our average ICU nurse has more than eight to 10 years ICU experience and they, you know, over 70% of our staff, have completed an ICU or a pediatric ICU critical care certificate. So we employ highly skilled and highly experienced people, with decades of intensive care as well as pediatric intensive care experience... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/my-15-year-old-daughter-has-been-in-picu-since-october-last-year-she-cant-come-off-the-ventilator-tracheostomy-i-want-her-home-please-help/

https://intensivecareathome.com/how-can-you-as-a-family-obtain-funding-for-intensive-care-at-home How Can You as a Family Obtain Funding for Intensive Care at Home? Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare So in today’s video, I want to talk about How can you as a family obtain funding for intensive care at home? How can you as a family obtain funding for intensive care at home? Because we are getting this question from families all the time, families mainly have a loved one in intensive care, or families who have a loved one at home and have a loved one on life support. Meaning ventilation, tracheostomy, or bipap ventilation or sometimes, clients may not even be on a ventilator, but they may be having medical complexities such as complex seizure management, and especially with complex seizure management, patients might have an unstable airway and an unstable airway needs the skills of an intensive care nurse. Hence, intensive care at home is the right service for that. At the time of the recording of this video,we’re in early 2020 now and as of 2020, there are several ways of obtaining funding for intensive care at home 24 hour nursing care with intensive care nurses or pediatric intensive care nurses. So as some of you may know, the NDIS or the National Disability Insurance Scheme has kicked in for a few years now in Australia. And the National Disability Insurance Scheme has started to fund nursing care. Right. And with that, the NDIS is funding nursing care, you need to obtain medical and nursing evidence that your loved one qualifies for that. But I can assure you that if your loved one is on ventilation and tracheostomy, most likely they will qualify for 24 hour nursing care as most of our clients have obtained that funding already. Now, this is often not an overnight sort of event. But we have advocated or helped to advocate for so many clients now, and we’ve done a lot of legwork for our clients successfully. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in business and we wouldn’t be helping clients to stay at home instead of intensive care on a day by day basis. So therefore the NDIS is is one funding avenue. But sometimes we get funding through public hospitals as well. And in other instances, we get funding through private health insurances, or in some instances, we get funding through a hospital in the home model or through a palliative care in the home model. So the bottom line is this. Whether you have a loved one in intensive care, or whether you have a loved one at home on a ventilator, but you don’t have the support your loved one needs (yet), if they are on life support and ventilation because ventilation and tracheostomy skills take years of training, specialized training in intensive care. So you can’t just take lay people off the street and look after somebody on a ventilator with a tracheostomy that’s simply dangerous. You know, if your loved one goes back to intensive care, they wouldn’t be having somebody off the street looking after your loved one, they would have fully qualified Intensive Care Nurses looking after your loved one and we offer at the end of the day, we’re offering an intensive care substitution service that’s highly valuable. Because where would you rather be at home or in intensive care? I think the answer is rather obvious, especially if you get the same care and treatment at home... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/how-can-you-as-a-family-obtain-funding-for-intensive-care-at-home

https://intensivecareathome.com/how-to-keep-more-patients-at-home-and-out-of-icu-picu-taking-the-pressure-off-hospitals/ HOW TO KEEP MORE PATIENTS AT HOME AND OUT OF ICU/PICU TAKING THE PRESSURE OFF HOSPITALS! Book your free 15-minute phone consultation here http://intensivecarehotline.com/scheduling-appointment/ Call directly 24/7 +1 415-915-0090 USA/Canada +44 118 324 3018 UK +6141 094 2230 Australia Email support@intensivecarehotline.com Get 1:1 consulting and advocacy 1:1 phone counselling http://intensivecarehotline.com/one-on-one-counselling/ Become a member for families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care https://intensivecarehotline.com/intensivecaresupport-org-membership/ Immediate action steps http://intensivecarehotline.com/take-control-take-charge/immediate-action-steps/ https://intensivecareathome.com And if you need a medical record review, click on the link and we can help you with reviewing your loved one’s medical records while they’re in ICU. https://intensivecarehotline.thrivecart.com/review-of-medical-records/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ICUhotline Twitter: https://twitter.com/icuhotline #icu #intensivecare #criticalcare How to keep more patients at home and out of ICU/PICU taking the pressure off hospitals! So in today’s video, I want to briefly talk about the coronavirus crisis and how it impacts on intensive care units and on intensive care at home. And also how we can help intensive care units and also how we can help your family to stay clear of hospitals and intensive care units especially during this time of crisis. We’re already helping families to keep their loved ones out of intensive care, despite high acuity needs such as mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, but also non invasive ventilation such as BIPAP or CPAP or other medical complexities that our clients deal with on a day by day basis. So as this healthcare crisis has been unfolding in recent weeks and months and probably will continue to unfold over the next few weeks with the coronavirus, intensive care units all across the country and all over the world will be filling up with many critically ill patients putting even more pressure on an already stretched intensive care system. You know, after having worked in intensive care for 20 years,ICU doesn’t need a pandemic like the COVID-19 to be full, to be busy and to be stretched to the maximum. Anybody who’s worked in intensive care for any length of time can appreciate what’s probably going to come over the next few weeks and what’s already happening in some countries. From that perspective you know, our job here at intensive care at home obviously is to keep our clients at home safely, so they can stay away from already overstretched ICU’s and hospital system. So that’s our number one job, making sure that all of our clients are safe at home and don’t have any readmissions and that obviously our staff are safe. And on that note, I really want to say a big, big thank you to our staff that keep our clients Safe at Home 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making sure they don’t have to go back to intensive care or to a hospital. That is our main goal. And again, I can’t thank our staff enough to make that happen on a day by day basis 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But coming back to intensive care and how this impacts and how our service helps intensive care units to free up bed capacity to look after probably more acutely unwell patients that are probably about to get into the system very soon. So especially long term ventilated patients in intensive care cause bed blocks, they are often there for much longer than necessary, especially if they have ventilation and tracheostomy needs. With our service intensive care at home, we can take them home and keep them home predictably with a 24 hour roster, we can free up ICU capacity that most likely will be needed over the next few weeks for mainly COVID-19 patients flogging into the system. By helping ICU’s free up bed capacity we’re creating a win win situation. Now also, when somebody is long term ventilated with a tracheotomy in intensive care, because of the prolonged and often burdensome stay in intensive care, it makes them much more prone to get an infection, in an environment where there’s so many infections going around already, and now with the COVID-19 situation, it’s going to be heightened. So, from that perspective, it’s time for you if you have a loved one in intensive care with long term ventilation and tracheostomy needs to get out of there before ICU is get overcrowded and also priorities might be changing as this crisis might be unfolding... Continue reading at: https://intensivecareathome.com/how-to-keep-more-patients-at-home-and-out-of-icu-picu-taking-the-pressure-off-hospitals/