Overview
When serious illness requires a hospital stay, patients and families need to know their care is in the very best of hands. Our award-winning Critical Care Unit (CCU) team is committed to providing treatment for critically ill patients in a timely, sensitive manner, while providing personalized support and advocacy at every step.
In addition to our staff of physicians (board certified in critical care medicine and pulmonology), advanced practice clinicians and registered nurses, our multidisciplinary approach involves experts from Cooley Dickinson’s dietary, rehabilitation, respiratory care and pharmacy departments. Cardiologists, gastroenterologists and other specialists are also available for our patients any time a case calls for their expertise.
The advanced technology in the critical care unit allows for 24 hour monitoring, ensuring that staff is immediately aware of any changes in patient status. Patients in our CCU (also known as the ICU, or intensive care unit) are those who:
- Have a serious acute illness, such as pneumonia or another infection
- Have had surgery and are at particular risk for complications (in these cases, a CCU stay is part of the post-op plan)
- Require treatment for a drug overdose
- Experiencing advanced cardiac disease
- Diagnoses requiring advanced medical care
Our interdisciplinary team of experts will continue to care for patients as their conditions improve in our Step Down Unit.
In 2014, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) honored the unit with a Gold Beacon Award, which recognizes “staff-driven excellence in sustained unit performance and patient outcomes that exceed national benchmarks.”