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If you want to know why LTACs in the U.S. are not good places to choose when your loved one is going from ICU to LTAC, then I’ve got news for you today. Stay tuned.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care. 

I’ve said it many times over the last 12 years or so that LTACs in the U.S. are places you need to stay clear of, especially when your loved one is critically ill in intensive care. I have made numerous videos about it, and today I can share more information that what I am saying is absolutely true.

I just want to play a message here so you can hear it firsthand once again.

“Hi, I think I saw a video from you, actually. I just was kind of looking to find out how I can get my husband out of this LTAC (Long Term Acute Care). I have seen some of the things you all put online and how bad they are, and it is so true. I have medical experience, and even the hospital was awful, but this is just so much worse. 

He’s been here for like six days and has declined, and they just aren’t listening. They are treating him not nice, and I need to get him home. So, I don’t know how to go about doing that. I do not have any equipment. I can buy a lift. I can get a bed, it costs $39,000, but I also cannot stay awake 24/7. So, I don’t know how to go about doing this to get him out of here. 

Right now, he was weaned from the ventilator to the point that he was on a tracheostomy collar, and they were about to downsize it to a 6, and then hopefully get rid of it all the way around. But then, I guess he either tried to get on or something happened, and they stuck him back on the ventilator, which is understandable, at least for a minute. But now he’s stuck on the ventilator again, and they are not feeding him, and this is a bad situation.  

On top of that, he has multiple wounds that they are not taking care of. His chest won’t open, and this all started from a stupid stent. His colostomy, which is a disaster, is really, really bad. He needs surgery, but I can’t find a surgeon to fix it. Then, he’s got a Stage 4 pressure ulcer. I know how to debride it myself if need be. He’s also got muscle wasting. There you go. I’ve managed to get his right arm and right-hand working. He can move his legs a little bit, but we are nowhere near getting out of bed. So, I just need some help. I don’t know how to get him out of here. They’re going to kill him. So, I need help. Can you give me a call back?”

So now you’ve heard it firsthand from another family in intensive care or in LTAC now. Her words, “They’re trying to kill him.” 

It’s also like another sign of what I’ve been saying for how many years now, families in intensive care don’t know what they don’t know.  They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask. They don’t know their rights, and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care.

Part of the problem here is that this particular family did not do the research to begin with. They didn’t know that when they have a loved one in intensive care, critically ill in the U.S., that the next steps are LTAC. If you don’t know that, you will be fighting an uphill battle, and you will find yourself in a situation like this lady finds herself in. You simply need to know what to do.

There’s plenty of ways to keep your loved one in intensive care. We’ve helped so many hundreds of clients and members over the years to keep their loved ones in intensive care instead of going to LTACs until they were ready to go on to rehab, or go home, whatever the case may be, or to a hospital ward after being liberated off the ventilator. 

But if you don’t do your research, this is what happens. You will find yourself in a situation where you unfortunately have to learn the hard way that LTACs are terrible, terrible places, and like this lady says, “They’re trying to kill him.”

And he’s got pressure wounds. I mean, I can’t tell you over the many years that we’ve been helping hundreds of members and clients where patients in LTACs, in particular, end up with pressure sores. That must never happen. So, it is absolutely atrocious, and it’s another testimonial here that what I’m saying is accurate that you should never, ever let your loved one go into LTAC. Never, ever. Now, people are begging to get them out of there.

We can help with that as well because, how this lady is alluding to, taking him home, we’ve got a service Intensive Care at Home. You can find more information at intensivecareathome.com, where we can have your loved one go from intensive care to home or from LTAC to home. So, have a look at intensivecareathome.com.

But also, another way forward here is to get your family member back to ICU. We’ve done that plenty of times as well. We look at the medical records, and then we make a clinical argument. We help you advocate for going back to ICU if that is the appropriate next step. One way or another, we can help. We almost have a solution for every problem here, whether it’s going home or going back to ICU.

Like I said, we’ve helped hundreds of paying members and paying clients over the years to improve their lives instantly when they have a loved one in intensive care. How do we do it? I’m a critical care nurse by background. I’ve worked in critical care and nursing for 25 years in three different countries, where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years, and where I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. 

I can confidently say that we have saved many lives for our clients and members, and you can verify that on our intensivecarehotline.com testimonial section, go to intensivecarehotline.com, click on our testimonial section, or have a listen to our intensivecarehotline.com podcast. We have done some client interviews, and they will verify that we have saved their loved ones’ lives.

That’s why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com. If you click on the membership link, or if you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email. and we answer all questions intensive care– related.

In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 e-books and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded. You will be in a position to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets the best care and treatment always so that you’re not in a situation like this lady, who is basically begging us to help her get her husband out of LTAC.

I also do one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I handhold you through this once-in-a-lifetime situation that you simply can’t afford to get wrong. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly with you or on your behalf. I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. 

We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also do medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need a closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence. 

All of that, you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected] with your questions.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button, click the notification bell, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have from this video. 

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show. You will get a notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel or if you are a subscriber to my email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com, share the video with your friends and families so we can help as many families in intensive care as possible.

Thank you so much for watching. 

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, and I will talk to you in a few days. 

Take care for now.

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