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

So today, I was doing a YouTube live stream where I answer questions for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home in real time. And I was on that live stream, and I answered the question today, “How to avoid excessive secretions for my daughter who’s on a tracheostomy with ventilation for a cerebral palsy?” And I answered that question in much detail because we look after ventilated and tracheostomy clients at home with cerebral palsy and tracheostomy. So, we have lots of experience there, and you can check out the YouTube live stream from today, and I’ll put a link about this video.

But then a question came up from a viewer that I couldn’t quite get to because I was running out of time, but the viewer had a question, “Why should patients avoid LTAC when they’re coming from ICU?” Now, I have made numerous videos about that, but maybe that question hasn’t been asked in that form, so I just thought I’ll make a quick video about that.

So, why should patients avoid LTAC when coming from ICU? Now, first things first. So, only patients with the tracheostomy and ventilation usually go from ICU to LTAC in the U.S. only. This is very specific for our audience in the U.S. because here in Australia, for example, our patients could go home from intensive care with a tracheostomy and ventilation if they can’t be weaned off the ventilator and they can go home with Intensive Care at Home. And you can check out intensivecareathome.com.

So, in the U.S., you need to avoid LTAC at all costs. Why is that? So basically, a critically ill patient having a tracheostomy and a ventilator in ICU and then the next thing that ICUs often do is send them to LTAC without even giving any warning. They ask for consent for a tracheostomy, for a PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomy) tube, and as soon as that’s done, they tell families, “Oh, now we got to go to LTAC.” And families have not seen it coming, which is why it’s so important to do your research when you have a loved one in intensive care, irrespective of your location.

You need to do research from day one because the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is 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 doc, how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care.

So, coming back to why to avoid LTAC, now you’re going from ICU to LTAC. LTAC has no ICU, no ICU doctors. Your loved one is in a highly vulnerable situation. LTAC is the better version of a nursing home, and then often the clock is ticking. Patients get 30 days in LTAC. If they can’t get off the ventilator, they then go to a skilled nursing facility. They’re going from bad to worse without fixing the underlying issues. And the underlying issues can really only be fixed in ICU and patients should be weaned off the ventilator in intensive care or with the Intensive Care at Home. So, I hope that helps.

Also, have a look at the Google reviews for LTACs. Have a look what families say, it’s atrocious. Again, it’s the better version of a nursing home. No ICU nurses, no ICU doctors, no RTs. You’re going from ICU to LTAC with no ICU skills. And then patients often bounce back into ICU very, very quickly within 24 hours, sometimes 48 hours, definitely within less than seven days. They bounce back to ICU because they’re not stable enough and then they’re often going to another ICU because the ICU that they got discharged from no longer has any bed. This is madness. So now, you can hopefully see why I’m saying, “No LTAC after ICU”. I hope that helps.

That’s my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care and you need questions answered, go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected].

Or if you have a loved one in intensive care, long-term, like long-term ventilation with tracheostomy, go to intensivecareathome.com.  Again, currently, we are operating in  all around Australia. And you should contact us if you need your loved one to go home from ICU with ventilation, or tracheostomy, or home TPN (total parenteral nutrition).

Now, also have a look at our membership site for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in a membership area and via email and we answer all questions, intensive care and Intensive Care at Home related.

Also, if you need a medical record review, please have a look. Contact us as well. We can review medical records when your loved one is in intensive care, but also after intensive care, especially if you need questions answered, or you need closure, or you suspect medical negligence, we can help you with all of that.

Like the video, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home, click the notification bell, click the like button, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next or what insights you have, whether you agree or disagree.

Thanks for watching.

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