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UPMC Western Maryland understands how difficult and stressful an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay can be for our patients and their families. We are committed to providing the highest level of care to facilitate healing from a serious injury or illness.
Visitor policies are subject to change. View our current visitation policies.
During a visit, caregivers may ask you to step out of the room. Please do not take offense, as this allows for patient privacy and safety during procedures. You will be welcomed back to the bedside as soon as possible.
View UPMC Western Maryland visitor resources.
The staff at UPMC Western Maryland need to devote their time and attention to our patients, only the family spokesperson may call directly to ICU for information. To maintain your confidentiality, the family spokesperson should relay information to other family members and those who are concerned about you directly. Your family spokesperson will be given a passcode. No information will be given to individuals without the passcode.
Please avoid making phone calls to ICU for information on a patient’s condition during the hours of 7 to 9 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. as this is when the nursing shifts change.
Due to the level of care the staff on the ICU give to patients, you may need to call the ICU front desk back if your call is not immediately answered. Your call is important to us, so if it is an emergency, please contact the hospital operator at 240-964-7000 for assistance.
Nurses coming off their shift need time to hand over patient care to the oncoming nurse. It also gives our nurses time to get an assessment and to better answer any questions.
In the ICU, every second counts, no matter the hour of the day. That is why we partnered with Advanced ICU Care® to implement the most advanced critical care telemedicine program available.
Advanced ICU Care® intensivists (doctors with special training in critical care) work collaboratively with physicians and nurses at your bedside to monitor your condition every minute of the day.
While our team still provides overall care for all of our patients at UPMC Western Maryland, our ICU team also helps to manage your care during those times when the bedside physician cannot be present, including at night and on the weekends. Advanced ICU Care® works closely with our team to complement the quality care they provide.
This collaborative approach has a proven track record of improving patient care and clinical outcomes. Advanced ICU Care® is the nation’s largest provider of Tele-ICU services. Our team of intensivists and critical care nurses operates from centralized Operation Centers that are electronically connected to receive feeds of patient data. This team continuously monitors real-time information about your vital signs, medications, labs and clinical status.
This added support and expertise means that any changes in your condition can be addressed immediately. Proactive data management tools help to identify problems before they become urgent, prompting quick intervention when necessary.
Two-way video access in our patient’s room enables face-to-face consultation between the bedside and our Advanced ICU Care® team. This constant monitoring ensures that help is always available when needed.
The Advanced ICU Care® team respects your privacy. When the critical care specialists at Advanced ICU Care® want to interact with you, a doorbell sound will occur before the doctor appears on the screen. When the Advanced ICU Care® team is not interacting with you, the camera and audio are turned off.
