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If you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care, and you want to avoid LTAC from ICU, if you’re in the U.S., stay tuned. I’ve got news for you.

Hi, my name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I have another quick tip for families in intensive care.

Jillian sends an email and says,

“Hi Patrik,

Thank you so much for your articles at intensivecarehotline.com. That made me realize we are not the only family in intensive care that needs help. We are in Florida. My mom is 68. She’s in a coma due to a traumatic brain injury or TBI. She’s on a ventilator with the tracheostomy and on dialysis.

The short version is that ICU is saying she’s stable despite her heart rate hitting 160 all the time. They want to send her to LTAC an hour away from our home for aggressive weaning off the ventilator.

The LTAC already says if they can’t wean her off the ventilator in approximately 30 days, which in my mind is impossible because she’s in a coma, she has to go to Georgia or Chicago, the only places in the U.S. that can give dialysis on a ventilator despite the fact they are doing that just here in the ICU. Do we have any recourse? Is it wrong to want her to stay in ICU that is near our family and able to provide services there? Thank you.

From Jillian”

Well, Jillian, thank you so much for sending that through and we’ve been dealing with this for over 10 years now. ICUs wanting to send out patients to LTAC prematurely.

So, let’s break this down for you. So, you are absolutely right that with the TBI and not waking up and her being in a coma, it will be very difficult to wean her off the ventilator. It’s not impossible, but it will be very difficult, especially if she’s not waking up because she wouldn’t be able to protect her airway.

So, what that might look like? Yes, she might be able to wean off the ventilator depending on how awake she is, how strong she is in breathing, but she may not be able to have the tracheostomy removed if she can’t protect her airway.

Next, ICU is telling you that she is stable despite your heart rate hitting 160 beats per minute all the time. Well, that certainly is not stable, that is actually unstable. They are misleading you, which many ICUs do in a situation like that to push you out.

Now, LTACs have never been designed for clinical need. They have been designed to free up ICU beds and they have been designed to save money. They have never been designed to work in the best interests of patients and family.

Now, you’re also saying, “They want to send her to an LTAC an hour away for aggressive weaning of the ventilator.” Well, one of the biggest challenges that I’ve seen over the years working with many families in ICU and in LTAC in the U.S. is that LTACs very rarely do they have a plan to wean a critically ill patient off the ventilator. Very, very rarely have I seen that succeed.

If they’re already telling you, the LTAC says if they can’t wean her in approximately 30 days, then they will send her to Georgia or to Chicago to a SNF, to a skilled nursing facility. That is what I’ve seen over and over again that ICU patients on a ventilator with the tracheostomy, they go to LTAC, and they never even bother trying to wean patients off the ventilator.

They just cash in the money and then send them off to a skilled nursing facility. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and it’s just not right. People need to know what to expect when they’re going to LTAC.

Now, you’re also saying the LTAC is telling you that she then has to go to Georgia or Chicago. The only U.S. places that can give dialysis on a ventilator. Well, that is nonsense. There are some LTACs out there who can do all of it. Not that I think they’re doing it well, I think they’re doing it extremely poorly. But there are some LTACs out there all around the U.S. We’ve certainly seen that but they’re still doing it very poorly.

So, your next question is probably the most important question, “Do we have any recourse? Is it wrong to want to stay in ICU that is near our family?” That’s not wrong at all. That is actually the very right course, you need to get on. The very right path you need to get on. It’s not wrong at all. You are right on the right track to keep her in ICU where all the specialists are to help her with waking up, where all the specialists are to wean her off the ventilator and the tracheostomy, where all the specialists are to wean her off dialysis.

Patients going to LTAC, if families don’t know about it, then they bounce back to another ICU within no time. So, imagine your mother goes to Georgia or to Chicago, most of the time, they’re bouncing back to ICU in no time and then she’ll be in another ICU in another state. That would be a nightmare.

So, what’s your recourse here? So, the first recourse is to simply say no, to simply object to it. Now, you should also ask for the hospital discharge policy which will probably say that she can’t go anywhere without your, assuming you are the power of attorney, without your or other family’s consent.

Number two, we have an article that I sent a link below from a legal firm, what your rights are when you are “forced” to go to another hospital. Well, no one can force you. That’s the first thing you need to believe that no one can force you.

If you don’t believe that you can help yourself, don’t bother watching this video. If you do believe that you can help yourself or that help is out there like we have helped so many families staying in ICU, we have helped families going back to ICU from LTAC. We have a proven track record, but if you don’t believe it’s possible, nothing is possible. I believe I can help you. We’ve helped so many families.

It’s also another thing that we’ve done over and over again is simply we look at medical records and we make the clinical argument why patients can’t go to LTAC. It is not safe. The reason I’m confidently saying that is we’ve tried to explain to families in intensive care, “Don’t go to LTAC. You’ll only regret it”, and they don’t believe us. It’s fine. If you want to watch these videos and you don’t believe me, that’s fine. But that’s your loss, not mine because I make these videos because I’m talking to families in intensive care every day and I have been doing so for the last 25 years.

I have worked in intensive care and critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com.

We’ve been getting results for our clients, and you can verify that just by going to our testimonial section and you can verify there that we saved lives for families in intensive care for patients in intensive care. There’s no exaggeration whatsoever. You can also go to our podcast section where you can watch and listen to client interviews.

Because we get some so many questions for families in intensive care, that’s why we created the membership for families of critically ill patients at intensivecarehotline.com where you can become a member by going to intensivecarehotline.com and click on the membership link or 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.

You also get exclusive access to 21 e-books and 21 videos in the membership that I have personally written and recorded, and those e-books and videos will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy of the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I will talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly and I change all the dynamics.

In this situation today from Jillian, I would probably talk to the doctors and ask all the right clinical questions and then I would come to the conclusion that your mom is not safe to go to LTAC and I would tell them why. That’s how we turn things around.

I find it very interesting that people watch these videos and think, “Oh yeah, whatever this guy is talking about.” Well, just look at our testimonial section. If you don’t want help that’s fine, that’s absolutely fine. I keep making these videos and help as many families as possible. But the shortcut is obviously to talk to me one-on-one directly because that’s when I can help you the most.

I also talk to doctors and nurses directly, making sure that I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one in intensive care. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams, once again, making sure you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence, making sure your loved one gets the best care and treatment whilst in intensive care.

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.

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

I also do a weekly YouTube live where you get notification if you subscribe to my YouTube channel here. If you like my video, subscribe to my YouTube channel, you get notification for the YouTube live or if you subscribe to our email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com. Also click the like button, click the notification bell, share this video with your friends and families, comment below what you want to see next, 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.