How to set up Intensive Care Unit at home effectively

What is ICU at Home?

An ICU, also known as an intensive care unit, is the true replica of a hospital intensive care unit with more personalized care provided by equally and efficiently trained health care professionals at home. An ICU setup at home requires medical equipment such as an IV stand, para monitor, oxygen cylinder, suction machine, alpha mattress, nebulizer, DVT pump, etc., apart from clinical staff to monitor patient requirements around the clock.

What is the Purpose of ICU at Home? ICU at Home is a sophisticated setup that provides treatment and monitors people who are:

1. Critically ill
2. Terminal stage of diseases
3. Recovering from surgery and presenting with post-surgery complications
4. It is also used for people who have respiratory disorders or patients who need support due to organ failure.

In some cases, patients need to be transferred out of hospital Intensive Care Units and given critical care at home for various medical, emotional, and rational reasons. In other words, a home ICU.

Some patients still require ICU facilities and acute care treatment even if they are no longer in the critical stage of their illness. Patients nearing the end of their life may still benefit from being discharged to their homes, where ICU services and nursing care can still be offered. Extended stays in the ICU may raise the chance of developing infections such as nosocomial infections (healthcare infections), which could postpone the beginning of therapeutic procedures.

Those who are recovering from a lengthy stay in the intensive care unit, neurological patients, patients with spinal/brain injuries and multiple trauma, post-transplant patients, patients receiving end-of-life care, cancer patients, patients with final-stage respiratory disorders, and patients with ventilators and tracheostomies are a few examples of those who may require critical care set up at home in the form of home ICU.

The best way to describe critical care provided at home is professional, protocol-driven healthcare. Highly skilled and experienced nursing attendants assist highly qualified and experienced medical experts regularly to ensure high-quality care is provided at home while strictly adhering to guidelines that have been globally recognized.

Under strict medical oversight, customized patient care is given. The patient’s primary physician administers critical care under the direction of a personalized care plan. Daily reports prepared as clinical data and available on portable digital devices are used to track progress.

Both the patient and the family providing care can be at ease. The patient and his or her family have regular access to patient health reports, illness counseling, and patient education in addition to the words given to doctors for consultation, keeping them and the caregivers informed and involved in the patient’s progress.

Types of ICU: The type of ICU in hospitals varies depending on the type of care and services given to the patient. The major types of Intensive Care Units include:

1. Coronary care and cardio-thoracic care (CCUs / CTUs)
2. Surgical Intensive Care
3. Medical Intensive Care
4. Long-term Intensive Care (LTAC ICU)

Key responsibilities of a nurse at the ICU at home:

1. Basic Care: IV cannulation, Ryle’s tube management, Foley's catheter management, wound dressing, medication administration, personal hygienic care, & much more.
2. Critical Care: ventilator handling, central line care, infusion of high-alert medications, oxygen administration, & others.
3. Specialist Care: Tracheostomy care & suctioning, colostomy care, PEG, tube feeding, etc.
4. Identifies alterations in patient lab values and other parameters Life-sustaining procedures.
5. Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation, Defibrillation & more.

When a family experience having a loved one who is seriously ill and dependent on life-saving devices and technology like a ventilator and a tracheostomy, they frequently believe that there are few real options and alternatives, but there are plenty of options and choices, such as

• To remain in Intensive Care for an extended amount of time
• To continue living there until they pass away Many long-term ventilated adults with tracheostomies can live at home with the right support system of an intensive home care service, which can provide intensive home care nursing up to 24*7-365 days a year. However, families rarely consider intensive home care as an option. Increasingly chronic, acutely ill, and disabled individuals can receive care in their homes due to these improvements and the expanded and improved capabilities of Home Care service providers.

Benefits of ICU at Home: Choosing Critical Care at home has several benefits, including:

1. Cost-effective
2. Personalised care (24*7 one-to-one service)
3. Doctor supervision round the clock
4. Reduced risk of hospital acquired infections
5. Faster recovery

Other benefits of ICU at Home: There are several advantages to choosing critical Care at home, both for the doctor and the patient.

1. Benefits for the doctors: It includes quicker patient recovery due to better treatment compliance; lower risk of secondary infections; improved patient satisfaction due to better clinical results; shorter stays, which boost efficiency and throughput; and less possibility of secondary infections.
2. Benefits for the patient: It includes improved compliance, a quicker recovery due to the comfort of being at home, and significant cost savings because professional home health care is 60–70% less expensive than hospital treatment. In addition, a speedier discharge from the hospital guarantees a quicker recovery and return to everyday life.

Apollo HomeCare Services: Apollo HomeCare provides a variety of medical devices, such as respiratory, mobility, and cardiac devices. Equipment can be rented every month or purchased for later use. We do, however, guarantee flexibility as needed. To explore the whole inventory, go to

(https://apollohomecare.com/services/medical-equipment/).

We provide ongoing and continuous Intensive Home Care services for ventilated adults with tracheostomies of any age and various illnesses. Catastrophic accidents, premature births, and other challenging and demanding diseases and health conditions might have brought on those illnesses.

Our biomedical engineers at Apollo Homecare offer the required technical support, on-site installation, staff/patient attendant training, maintenance, and after-sales services. They also have practical expertise in managing medical devices.

Our mission is to use technology to provide a more connected healthcare experience, allowing people to manage and enhance the quality of care for themselves and their loved ones. We provide round-the-clock support to our patients and address their emergency care needs. We assess the available space in the patient’s house, learn about their specific needs, and set up the ICU accordingly.