Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, today’s tip is from George and George asks, “I have been asked to move my father to a long-term care facility because we are only Day 6 of intubation and he’s making progress. He’s weaning off the ventilator. What should I do?” That is a great question, George, and thank you for asking it.

Now, this is specific to our U.S. audience because George is talking about LTAC or Long-Term Acute Care. In other English-speaking countries, there are no long-term acute care facilities. So, this is very unique to our U.S. audience. Let’s break this down.

You’ve potentially heard me warn before about LTAC so that you shouldn’t go to an LTAC. This is another prime example that ICUs have become complacent. They are talking about sending your dad to an LTAC after Day 6.

I tell you what they should be talking about, they should be talking about how to get your dad off the ventilator and extubate him. Extubation is the removal of the breathing tube and avoiding the tracheostomy and avoiding LTAC because once he’s off the ventilator and the breathing tube, he doesn’t need a tracheostomy and he certainly won’t need LTAC or long-term acute care. So clearly, they are not focusing on the right priorities and they’re harming your dad in the process.

The ultimate goal for a patient in ICU on a ventilator is to get off that ventilator as quickly as possible. Avoid the tracheostomy and therefore avoid LTAC, you know what I mean?

But even if you’re watching this in any other country, the goal is to get your family member off the ventilator, avoiding the tracheostomy, full stop. Even if your family member needs a tracheostomy then still, the goal is to get them off the ventilator and the tracheostomy as quickly as possible, one way or another.

But clearly, this ICU is not focusing on the right things. Why are they talking about LTAC instead of talking about getting your dad off the ventilator? That must be their ultimate goal.

This is another prime example that the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is simply that they 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.

One way that we can help you with is just simply by looking at the medical records and helping you understand how the ICU team can get your dad off the ventilator as quickly as possible. We’re also talking to them directly and making sure they know you have someone on your team who understands intensive care inside out that can guide you with this. Clearly, you need help.

One way for us to help in situations like that is through our membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, by going to intensivecarehotline.com and you can click on the membership link there or you can go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In our membership for families of critically patients in intensive care, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in a membership area and by email and we answer all questions, intensive care related.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you, and I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly, holding them accountable so that you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence in those situations, where you have the perception that ICU teams hold the upper hand, but they don’t, as long as you play your cards, and you have the right tools, tips, and strategies.

I have worked in intensive care for over 20 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse unit manager for over 5 years and where I have been advocating for families in intensive care all over the world for the last 10 years here at intensivecarehotline.com.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams so that you don’t get walked all over in family meetings and that you have a strategy when you go there. I strategize with you whether you should even go into a family meeting. Just because the intensive care team says “Jump”, doesn’t mean you need to ask, “How high?” Again, 99% of your family is in intensive care have no strategies, whatsoever.

Now, I can say without exaggeration that we have saved lives over the years, and you can verify that by looking at our testimonial section on our website or by looking at our podcast section with client interviews at intensivecarehotline.com.

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

Now, if you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and also go to intensivecarehotline.com. There, give us a call on the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to [email protected].

Again, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care. Click the like button, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have.

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.