Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
OVERVIEW
The Critical Care Unit also called the Intensive Care Unit or ICU, provides advanced care for patients who require close monitoring due to the seriousness of their injury or illness, or due to the fact that their condition can change quickly.
Our state-of-the-art units provide the best in Critical Care to patients from Trauma, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Vascular Surgery, Renal as well as complicated medical patients suffering from respiratory and gastrointestinal diagnoses.
OUR TEAM
Care in the ICU is provided by a multidisciplinary team of care providers, which is made up of specially trained healthcare professionals including intensivists (critical care doctors), nurses, and other care specialists. Each professional brings his or her particular expertise to the team, collaborating on a plan of care and treatment for each patient, based upon his or her individual needs and conditions. The role of the team is to provide the best care possible to the patient, to update the family spokesperson throughout the patient's care, and consult with the patient's designated next of kin about the patient's care if the patient is unable to do so.
RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
The following information is meant to assist families with a loved one on the unit.
The ICU is located on the 3rd floor at both the Met and Ouellette Campuses. Visitors to the unit enter through a locked door and are asked to be buzzed in by picking up one of the phones near the door to the unit.
We understand that this can be a very difficult time for family and loved ones. We try to be as flexible and accommodating as possible for visitors, balancing the needs of the family with the needs of the patients - as well as respecting the needs of other patients in the unit.
For those reasons, we ask that you:
- Use the phone at the doors to the ICU to call reception when you want to enter the unit.
- Have no more than two visitors at a time per patient.
- Turn off cell phones and other electronic devices.
- Please, no photography or videos including cell phones.
- Leave food, drinks, and gum outside of the unit.
- Please stay at home if you have symptoms of a communicable disease including fever, cough, and runny nose (patients in Critical Care are most vulnerable, and even a cold can cause serious complications).
- Use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the unit.
- Flowers and other scented gifts are also not permitted due to scent hypersensitivity.
- Wash off any scents such as perfume, cologne, and other body/hair products.
- Wear shoes at all times.
Please feel free to ask questions (note: due to confidentiality issues, we can only discuss a patient's medical condition with designated family members/loved ones).
Visitors under the age of 12 are strongly discouraged for their own safety. Not only can the Critical Care Unit be a traumatizing experience for children, but they are also at greater risk of picking up infections. Please talk to the staff if you feel an exception is necessary.
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A family spokesperson is usually (but not always) an immediate family member of the patient who is elected by the family to relay the information between the ICU Team and the entire family. This person should be someone who listens well, speaks well, tends to remain calm in a crisis, and is respected by other family members.
Once a spokesperson is selected by the family, the spokesperson's name and telephone number(s) should be given to the nurse.
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The Family Waiting Room is a very special place for family and loved ones to gather. It is designed to be a quiet area to wait temporarily while visiting a loved one in ICU. For these reasons, we ask that you:
- Please be respectful of other families in the waiting room,
- Use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the unit,
- Please keep the area tidy and free from garbage, and
- Avoid sleeping overnight - you will be much better rested and will benefit from getting away.
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For many, a visit to the ICU is the first time patients and families discuss end-of-life care. The unit has developed a brochure to help patients and families through what can be a difficult process to ensure that the right decisions are being made at the right times to respect the patient's wishes.
Another important consideration for some families at this time is organ donation. Windsor Regional Hospital has an organ and tissue donations coordinator who can discuss this with you and answer any questions you might have.
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Every morning the healthcare team will meet to discuss each patient they are caring for. 2-3 family members with the patient code number can attend rounds. We strongly encourage electing a family spokesperson to disseminate information to the larger group.
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FAQ's
| We promote a healing environment in the hospital, and that is especially important in the unit. Having a locked unit means fewer interruptions for nurses caring for your loved one, and reduces the traffic in and out of the unit for a quieter, more restful environment. |
| The visitor's lounge is adjacent to ICU at the Ouellette Campus. At the Met Campus, it is located adjacent to the ICU doors beside the Ronald McDonald House door. |
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about the Critical Care Unit, please talk to the critical care nurse providing care to your loved one, or contact the managers below:
Nicole Krywionek
Director of Critical Care and Cardiology
Office: 519-254-5577, ext. 33008
Mobile: (519) 995-4819
Email: nicole.krywionek@wrh.on.ca
Elena Martin
Operations Manager
Cardiac Catheterization Lab, CCU, and Arrhythmia Device Clinic
Phone: (519) 524-5577 Ext. 33325
Cell: (519) 995-3425
Email: elena.martin@wrh.on.ca
Katie Ouellette
Operations Manager,
Intensive Care Unit - Ouellette
Phone: (519) 254-5577 Ext. 31137
Cell: (519) 995-3600
Email:
Katie.Ouellette@wrh.on.caSharra Hodgins
Manager, ICU (MET Campus)
Phone: (519) 254-5577 ext. 52541
Mobile: (519) 995-4688
Email: sharra.hodgins@wrh.on.ca
Lindsay Lammers
Clinical Practice Coordinator, ICU (Met Campus)
Phone: (519) 254-5577 ext. 52045
Cell: (519) 995-4714
Email: Lindsay.Lammers@wrh.on.ca
Jessica McGuire-Wasylowich
Manager, ICU (Ouellette Campus)
Phone: (519) 254-5577 ext. 31137
Cell: (519) 995-3601
Email: Jessica.McGuire-Wasylowich@wrh.on.ca
Caitlin Stanton
Critical Practice Manager, ICU (Ouellette Campus)
Phone: (519) 254-5577 ext. 33715
Cell: (519) 995-7303
Email: caitlin.stanton@wrh.on.ca