Services
UPMC Hamot's intensive care units (ICUs) require a multidisciplinary team that consists of, but is not limited to, intensivists, nurse practioners, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory care therapists and other medical consultants from a broad range of specialties.
UPMC Hamot is one of the few hospitals in the region to have an intensivist service - a critical care specialist. UPMC Hamot's intensivists are trained in a variety of specialties and have completed a fellowship in critical care and a residency in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and/or surgery. Intensivists make periodic assessments of the patient's cardiac status, breathing rate, urinary output and blood levels in order to detect nutritional and hormonal problems that may require urgent treatment. In addition to their role in direct patient care, an intensivist is usually the lead physician when multiple consultants are involved. Growing evidence suggests outcomes are increasingly better in ICUs managed by full-time intensivists. According to recent studies, intensivists in the ICU:
- Can reduce death rates by as much as 30 percent with cutting-edge, protocol-driven care.
- Lower complication rates through prompt consultations.
- Shorten hospital stays through the reduction of complications.
The nurse's role in the ICU usually includes clinical assessment, diagnosis and providing plans of the patient's expected treatment outcomes.
The ICU pharmacist evaluates all drug therapy. This evaluation looks at dosages, route of administration and monitoring for signs of allergic reactions. The ICU pharmacist is also responsible for enteral and parenteral nutrition (tube feeding) for patients who cannot eat on their own.
Respiratory therapists with specialized training in cardiorespiratory (heart and lung) generally provide medications to help patients breathe. They also provide care and support of mechanical ventilators.
