Critical Care Units

The Critical Care Units are located on the second floor and consist of the Coronary Care Unit and the Intensive Care Unit. Both units are equipped with state-of the-art equipment and the focus is on special cardiac care as well as critical care for surgical and medical patients.
 
Coronary Care Unit
In the Coronary Care Unit patients receive specialized care for cardiac diagnoses, which include but are not limited to: chest pain, congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndrome and myocardial infarctions. Both private and semi private rooms are available.

Intensive Care Unit
In the Intensive Care Unit patients receive care for critical illnesses related to, but not limited to: neurologic, cardiac, renal, vascular and multi-system failure as well as critical post-operative conditions. 

Registered Nurses and Point of Care Technicians who are highly trained in multiple areas of cardiac and critical care staff the Critical Care Units. Walking Reports are completed each shift. The patient’s present nurse gives a report to the patient’s oncoming nurse in the presence of the patient. All Critical Care nurses are required to be certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Other departments offering support staff to assist in meeting the patient’s needs include: Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Dieticians, Case-Management/Social Work and Physical/Occupational Therapy. The Intensive Care Unit is staffed with a Critical Care Intensivist, a medical doctor who is board certified in Critical Care Medicine and who makes rounds on the unit daily.

Patient Safety
Patient safety is a primary focus at Licking Memorial Health Systems. The following equipment is used in meeting the safety needs of our patients.

• Patient beds and chairs have alarm systems to help reduce the incidence of falls. The state-of-the-art beds promote patient safety and comfort, and are ergonomically designed for nurses caring for patients.
• Smart IV pumps are used for intravenous administration and ensure that the patient is given the right dosage and is not overmedicated.
• Bedside Medication Verification is a barcode medication administration system which helps prevent medication error, ensuring the right patient gets the right medication.
• Total Care Beds are available with a Zone Air mattress which helps prevent and protect against skin breakdown while providing comfort to the patient.

Low Infection Rates
At Licking Memorial Health Systems we monitor the quality of care we provide and compare it to benchmark measures which reflect our low infection rates in the categories of central lines, urinary tract infections and ventilator associated pneumonia.

Visitation
At Licking Memorial Health Systems open visitation is offered. However, anyone who is ill should not come into the Critical Care Units. This is for the safety of all patients in the units.