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Hi it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME where we provide tailor made solutions for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomies by improving their Quality of life and where we also provide tailor made solutions to hospitals and Intensive Care Units to save money and resources, whilst providing Quality Care
So in last week’s blog I answered a question from one of our readers, Ellen and Ellen was asking that her son is in ICU, her 36 year old son is in ICU with ALS and he’s been on a ventilator with tracheostomy and she wants her son to go home with BiPAP even though he’s retaining CO2. And she’s asking can he go home even though he’s on BiPAP with a tracheostomy and a CO2 retainer?
And I answered that question there in last week’s blog and you can click on the link below this video where you can check out last week’s question.
So in today’s question, Myrna is asking
My husband has been in ICU for six weeks, ventilated with tracheostomy! He’s depressed. I want him home, can he go home with intensive care at home?
Hi Patrik,
my husband has a tracheostomy and he’s been in ICU since the 6th of January, which is now coming close to six weeks. He’s weaning off the ventilator and the tracheostomy very, very slowly. He has poor muscle tone and very poor and minimalized movement due to all the medicines he was given while he was in an induced coma.
I would really like to bring him home with intensive care at home. He’s getting depressed, he’s not able to talk at the moment because of the tracheostomy and the ventilation. I need advice how to get him home. Is it the best option and so forth?
From Myrna.
Hi Myrna,
thank you so much for writing in and contacting us. So this is the prime example Myrna for how intensive care at home can improve the whole situation for your husband, for you, but also for the hospital and for the intensive care units and provide a win-win situation.
So he’s been in ICU for six weeks. He’s weaning off the ventilator very slowly by the sounds of things, which is not unusual at all because you know, he was in an induced coma and with all the sedation and the pain medication he’s had whilst he was in the induced coma, it takes time to wake up. It doesn’t take a lot of time to lose all the muscles which is what’s happened in your husband’s situation.
You know, he hasn’t probably been mobilized properly, hasn’t been getting out of bed yet. And of course he’s losing muscle tone and that doesn’t help him to wean off the ventilator at all. And of course he’s getting depressed in ICU, no natural daylight, disturbed day and night rhythm. It’s a foreign environment, doctors, nurses making noise all the time, can’t sleep, can’t rest, you know, it’s not the right environment.
And on top of that, it’s very expensive. An ICU bed, as you’re aware, costs five to $6,000 per bed day and your husband quite frankly, doesn’t need to be there. The only thing that you haven’t mentioned is whether he’s on inotropes or vasopressors. But as soon as he’s off inotropes and vasopressors, he can go home with the service like ours where we send ICU nurses into the home 24 hours a day to provide a genuine alternative to a long-term stay in ICU or what’s called an ICU substitution service.
We can set up home care for you, you know, getting all the equipment ready. We’re very experienced in that. We’ve done it, you know, dozens of times for our clients getting home care ready, getting a roster in place, 24 hours, same place with the right nurses. You know, we’ll get you involved in the staff selection process. We’ll only send you the nurses that you make a good connection with.
What’s really important at home as well. You know, he would go back to a normal day and night rhythm. He’s in his own environment and quite frankly, we’d be much less depressed because you know, his quality of life and your quality of life will improve big time, when you’re at home, it’s just your natural environment.
And then at home weaning can be done at home. We can start weaning your husband off the ventilator at home. Get him out of bed on a day by day basis. That’ll strengthen his muscles, especially his breathing muscles because he won’t get off the ventilator without strengthening the breathing muscles. So, and again, the depression usually goes out of the window once your loved one is at home because you know, ICU is a very depressing environment.
Coming to the funding, depending, you know, you mentioned to me that you are in Melbourne, in Australia, you know funding, an ICU bed as I mentioned is five to $6,000 per bed day. We can cut the cost off the ICU bed by about half and that’s a very good offer for anyone and the hospitals are definitely interested, the ICU’s are really interested in creating room for other patients.
So it’s a win-win situation really. And in terms of funding, now the NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia is funding some of the homecare or most of it. And again, we can help you with all of that. So I hope that helps.
The other thing that I should mention is you mentioned that your husband can’t talk. You know, again, we can start using the speaking valve. If they haven’t tried the speaking valve that needs to happen next. Your husband needs a speaking valve so he can start talking. And also again, he needs to have physical therapy so he can start using his arms and legs again. Maybe you can then start using an iPad or start to write things, you know, once his strength is back. Those are all things that need to happen.
So thanks for watching and thanks Myrna for asking that question because I know this answer will help you and it will also help some of our other readers and viewers of the videos.
So if you want to find out how we can help you to get your loved one out of intensive care including palliative care or long-term acute care o,
thank you so much for writing in and contacting us. So this is the prime example Myrna for how intensive care at home can improve the whole situation for your husband, for you, but also for the hospital and for the intensive care units and provide a win-win situation.
So he’s been in ICU for six weeks. He’s weaning off the ventilator very slowly by the sounds of things, which is not unusual at all because you know, he was in an induced coma and with all the sedation and the pain medication he’s had whilst he was in the induced coma, it takes time to wake up. It doesn’t take a lot of time to lose all the muscles which is what’s happened in your husband’s situation.
You know, he hasn’t probably been mobilized properly, hasn’t been getting out of bed yet. And of course he’s losing muscle tone and that doesn’t help him to wean off the ventilator at all. And of course he’s getting depressed in ICU, no natural daylight, disturbed day and night rhythm. It’s a foreign environment, doctors, nurses making noise all the time, can’t sleep, can’t rest, you know, it’s not the right environment.
And on top of that, it’s very expensive. An ICU bed, as you’re aware, costs five to $6,000 per bed day and your husband quite frankly, doesn’t need to be there. The only thing that you haven’t mentioned is whether he’s on inotropes or vasopressors. But as soon as he’s off inotropes and vasopressors, he can go home with the service like ours where we send ICU nurses into the home 24 hours a day to provide a genuine alternative to a long-term stay in ICU or what’s called an ICU substitution service.
We can set up home care for you, you know, getting all the equipment ready. We’re very experienced in that. We’ve done it, you know, dozens of times for our clients getting home care ready, getting a roster in place, 24 hours, same place with the right nurses. You know, we’ll get you involved in the staff selection process. We’ll only send you the nurses that you make a good connection with.
What’s really important at home as well. You know, he would go back to a normal day and night rhythm. He’s in his own environment and quite frankly, we’d be much less depressed because you know, his quality of life and your quality of life will improve big time, when you’re at home, it’s just your natural environment.
And then at home weaning can be done at home. We can start weaning your husband off the ventilator at home. Get him out of bed on a day by day basis. That’ll strengthen his muscles, especially his breathing muscles because he won’t get off the ventilator without strengthening the breathing muscles. So, and again, the depression usually goes out of the window once your loved one is at home because you know, ICU is a very depressing environment.
Coming to the funding, depending, you know, you mentioned to me that you are in Melbourne, in Australia, you know funding, an ICU bed as I mentioned is five to $6,000 per bed day. We can cut the cost off the ICU bed by about half and that’s a very good offer for anyone and the hospitals are definitely interested, the ICU’s are really interested in creating room for other patients.
So it’s a win-win situation really. And in terms of funding, now the NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia is funding some of the homecare or most of it. And again, we can help you with all of that. So I hope that helps.
The other thing that I should mention is you mentioned that your husband can’t talk. You know, again, we can start using the speaking valve. If they haven’t tried the speaking valve that needs to happen next. Your husband needs a speaking valve so he can start talking. And also again, he needs to have physical therapy so he can start using his arms and legs again. Maybe you can then start using an iPad or start to write things, you know, once his strength is back. Those are all things that need to happen.
So thanks for watching and thanks Myrna for asking that question because I know this answer will help you and it will also help some of our other readers and viewers of the videos.
Kind Regards
Patrik Hutzel
If you want to find out how we can help you to get your loved one out of Intensive Care including palliative care or Long-term acute care (also nursing home) or if you find that you have insufficient support for your loved one at home on a ventilator, if you want to know how to get funding for our service or if you have any questions please send me an email to [email protected] or call on one of the numbers below.
Australia/New Zealand +61 41 094 2230
USA/Canada +1 415-915-0090
UK/Ireland +44 118 324 3018
Also, check out our careers section here
www.intensivecareathome.com/careers
We are currently hiring ICU/PICU nurses for clients in the Melbourne metropolitan area, northern suburbs, Mornington Peninsula and in South Gippsland/Victoria.
We are an NDIS, TAC (Victoria) and DVA (Department of Veteran affairs) approved community service provider in Australia.
Also, have a look at our range of full service provisions here
https://intensivecareathome.com/services
We have also been part of the Royal Melbourne health accelerator program for innovative health care companies last year!
https://www.thermh.org.au/news/innovation-funding-announced-melbourne-health-accelerator
https://www.melbournehealthaccelerator.com/
Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog.
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME and I see you again next week in another update!