SolutionHealth Critical Care Medicine is now a unified team managing the care of critically ill patients at both Southern NH Medical Center and Elliot Hospital. Patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) at both locations are now being managed 24/7 by one expert team of intensivists. ICU patients generally have life-threatening illnesses or serious conditions that require highly specialized medical care, close observation, and round-the clock monitoring. And not all hospitals offer 24/7 on-site care by a critical care team of intensivists. “Having a doctor available at the bedside or in the hospital 24 hours a day creates enhanced support for high acuity and intensity of care being provided to patients,” says Jennifer Duprey, DO, MPH, Medical Director of SolutionHealth Critical Care Medicine.
Some of the benefits associated with this intensivist approach include increased survival rates, reduced morbidity, decreased patients’ length of stay in the ICU, fewer clinical/procedural complications, improved patient and staff satisfaction, and a higher focus on patient safety.
This enhancement in critical care services allows SolutionHealth hospitals to care for more critically ill patients closer to home, in their own communities rather than having to transfer to other locations. In many cases, this care can now be provided locally with the support of having round-the-clock board-certified intensivists on-site.
In total, the new SolutionHealth Critical Care group will include 11 board-certified intensivists who will also ensure that a smooth, efficient continuum of care across all SolutionHealth services addresses all the patients’ needs. Collectively, the two campuses have 27 ICU beds and are supported by critical care trained nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, physical and occupation therapists, nutritionists, and social workers at each location.
“Bringing these highly experienced providers together increases the medical and surgical complexity of cases we are able to manage locally, including trauma, neurological, vascular, and thoracic procedures, which, in turn, ensures more patients can remain close to home for their care and decreases the need for patients to be transferred to external facilities for higher-complex needs,” says Timothy Scherer, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Southern NH Health.