Maximizing the Recovery of ICU Survivors: An Innovative Collaborative Care Model

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

Photo courtesy of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Photo courtesy of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

ICU stays are inherently stressful, and can result in various unique morbidities that adversely affect ICU survivors’ quality of life. To better care for such patients, providers at one Indiana facility decided to create a new care model. Authors Babar Khan and colleagues report on their efforts in one of this month’s CE features, “Critical Care Recovery Center: An Innovative Collaborative Care Model for ICU Survivors.” Here’s a brief overview.

Five million Americans require admission to ICUs annually owing to life-threatening illnesses. Recent medical advances have resulted in higher survival rates for critically ill patients, who often have significant cognitive, physical, and psychological sequelae, known as postintensive care syndrome (PICS). This growing population threatens to overwhelm the current U.S. health care system, which lacks established clinical models for managing their care. Novel innovative models are urgently needed.

To this end, the pulmonary/critical care and geriatrics divisions at the Indiana University School of Medicine joined forces to develop and implement a collaborative care model, the Critical Care Recovery Center (CCRC). Its mission is to maximize the cognitive, physical, and psychological recovery of ICU survivors. Developed around the principles of implementation and complexity science, the CCRC opened in 2011 as a clinical […]

2017-07-27T14:41:49-04:00March 5th, 2015|Nursing|0 Comments

AJN in March: Post-ICU Syndrome, Workplace Conflict Resolution, Prostate Cancer Options, More

AJN0315.Cover.OnlineAJN’s March issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.

New program for postintensive care syndrome (PICS). With increased ICU survival rates, we are seeing more complex cognitive, physical, and psychological sequelae. The authors of “Critical Care Recovery Center: An Innovative Collaborative Care Model for ICU Survivors” share how they created and implemented an evidence-based collaborative care program for ICU survivors to reduce morbidities that can affect their quality of life. This CE feature offers 2.5 CE credits to those who take the test that follows the article.

Helping men with localized prostate cancer make informed decisions. The information men receive at diagnosis of prostate cancer can be overwhelming. “Early Localized Prostate Cancer” reviews the multiple treatment options available for men with newly diagnosed, low-risk, localized prostate cancer and explains how nurses can help these men make informed decisions. This CE feature offers 2.5 CE credits to those who take the test that follows the article.

Further explore this topic by listening to a podcast interview with the author (this and other free podcasts are accessible via the Behind the Article podcasts page on our Web site, in our iPad app, or on iTunes). […]

Go to Top