The intensive care unit (ICU) at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) has two new critical care beds.
Hospital officials said the added beds will ensure more patients requiring critical services receive care closer to home.
“This enhancement to the ICU marks a milestone for critical care services at CKHA,” said Dr. Brent Herritt, intensivist and head of ICU at CKHA, in a media release. “The expansion of the unit will not only enhance our ability to provide specialized life-saving care but also ensures patients can receive treatment locally. The extra beds will lessen the need to transfer certain patients to larger centres, enabling more people in the community to access specialized care.”
In the spring of 2023, the provincial budget included funding for CKHA to expand its ICU from 10 beds to 12 beds.
In August 2023, the two additional beds opened on the unit in a temporary space while renovations were completed for two new patient rooms. The two new private rooms are retrofitted for each bed with new headwalls, improved lighting, flooring and finishes with adherence to infection prevention and control requirements, according to hospital officials.
“We are pleased to open these additional beds in modern and refreshed rooms within our Intensive Care Unit,” said Caen Suni, vice-president of clinical programs and operations at the hospital. “The expansion of critical care beds within the ICU not only enhances CKHA’s service delivery, it also allows our team to look at expanding care models within the unit. This is a longer-term vision for our organization as we continue to look at how we can offer more types of care to our community.”
CKHA’s critical care services also include 12 beds in the progressive care unit (PCU) for a total of 24 beds.
Some common ailments treated within CKHA’s ICU include respiratory failure, sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, arrhythmia, drug toxicity, pneumonia and diabetes.
