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Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Critical Care Medicine Department

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the NIH is located on the third floor of the Mark O. Hatfield NIH Clinical Center. This is a 12-bed Medical/Surgical ICU with an adjoining 6-bed intermediate care unit. The unit can provide hemodynamic monitoring, diagnostic ultrasound, ventilatory, renal replacement, and cardiovascular support. In addition, all medical patients and some surgical patients with predominantly medical problems are cared for by Critical Care Medicine Department (CCMD) senior physicians and medical fellows.

The ICU team includes physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and a pharmacist, nutritionist, and social worker dedicated to the management of CCMD patients. The department also provides a diagnostic pulmonary service for patients with bronchoscopy and elective pulmonary artery catheterization. The CCMD accepts patients from any service within the Clinical Center. Admission of patients for CCMD care can be requested by contacting the CCMD physician on-call via the page operator or by calling (301) 451-0567.

Other Critical Care Services

ICU staff working morning rounds
Morning rounds provide opportunities for teaching and interdisciplinary care. At NIH, referring teams are encouraged to join rounds so that information about underlying diseases and prior history is fully integrated into the care plan.
ICU staff working afternoon rounds
Afternoon rounds are essential for effective patient handoffs to the evening team. These rounds are also important to assure that the entire ICU staff has input into the management plan.
nurse practitioners working
A cadre of strong nurse practitioners supports the physician team.
Faculty and fellows working
Faculty work closely with fellows to manage patients who often have complex underlying pathology.