Intensive Care Unit

Most people don’t think much about an intensive care or critical care until they actually need it. Just ask Christine Deal whose unexpected brain surgery required a stay in EMMC's ICU. "The nurses and doctors were just wonderful to me," said Christine. "They were so helpful and compassionate and kept my family informed of what was happening!"

When the need for intensive care happens, the situation is life-threatening. It helps to know that you or your loved one are under the watchful eye and care of EMMC’s team of highly-trained nurses and physicians, who have specialized and advanced training in intensive care medicine.

As a level II trauma center, EMMC is ready 24 hours a day to provide virtually all specialty medical and surgical services, staffed by experts in their fields, and supported by state-of-the-art equipment. For patients with life-threatening injuries or illness, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s is a 24-bed facility designed to meet the very complex needs of critically ill adults. EMMC also has two intensive care units for children: a 14-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a 6-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

According to the Association of Critical Care Nursing, three factors differentiate intensive care units from other units in the hospital:

• very high nurse to patient ratio
• the availability of invasive monitoring, and
• the use of mechanical and pharmacological life-sustaining therapies (eg, mechanical ventilation and continuous dialysis).

On this website, you will find more information about these state-of-the-art services at EMMC, who you will meet, and what to expect if you or a family member needs critical care.