An injury or illness resulting in a stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) can take a toll on both a person’s mind and body. Memory loss, anxiety and other cognitive conditions are often part of the recovery process after a lengthy hospital visit.
To help in this process, Wishard Health Services has introduced the Wishard Critical Care Recovery Center (CCRC) for the continued care of patients recently released from a Wishard ICU. The CCRC is believed to be the only program of its kind in the country to integrate a recovery model into ICU discharge.
The challenging ICU experience can leave patients with diminished strength, depression and anxiety, along with strained cognitive ability. The CCRC team assesses and cares for patients in all three areas affected by critical illness: physical, psychological and cognitive. The CCRC team is led by Dr. Malaz Boustani, medical director of Wishard’s Healthy Aging Brain Center, and Dr. Babar Khan, an ICU physician.
After a patient is referred to CCRC, the team conducts a biopsychosocial rehabilitation needs assessment and creates individualized treatment. Typical CCRC care lasts six to 12 months and includes resources needed after ICU discharge all in one place. In addition to access to physicians, these services range from coordination of prescriptions to ensure that medications do not interact to physical therapy and mental health services. Through this program, Wishard hopes these patients will incur fewer emergency room visits and hospital readmissions.
“The goal of this new center is to optimize recovery of an ICU patient, so that they can bounce back to their pre-hospital levels of physical, cognitive and psychological functioning,” said Khan, medical director of the CCRC and a Regenstrief Institute investigator.
The CCRC is designed to supplement, not replace, treatment from a patient’s primary care physician. The CCRC team members communicate with a patient’s primary care physician to ensure that treatment is provided in accordance with the patient’s medical history and that needs continue to be met once treatment with CCRC is completed.
