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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com, where we provide tailor-made solutions for long-term ventilated adults and children with tracheostomies. And where we also provide tailor-made solutions for hospitals and intensive care units whilst providing quality service for long-term ventilated patients and medically-complex patients at home, including home TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition), including IV fluids, home BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure), home CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) and so forth.
In today’s blog I want to answer a question from a reader, from Keith who says, “What can you do at home for my mother on 24/7 BiPAP in ICU. There is no quality of life in ICU.”
Now, Keith, I can appreciate that there’s absolutely no quality of life in ICU. I mean, I have worked in ICU for over 20 years in three different countries myself before I started setting up Intensive Care at Home successfully.
We help now dozens of clients at home, predominantly on the east coast in Australia. We are currently NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), TAC (Transport Accident Commission) in Victoria, ICare in New South Wales, NIISQ (National Injury Insurance Scheme, Queensland) and DVA (Department of Veteran Affairs)-approved service provider. We have also received funding through the Department of Health as well as through public hospitals.
So in any case, I have seen patients like your mother in ICU over and over again, which led me to setting up Intensive Care at Home realizing that there is a need for home care. If someone is stuck in ICU on BiPAP and they can’t come off it, the option to go home must be there. It’s your choice. It’s not the hospital’s choice. And often, hospitals are bed blocked, they need the ICU bed desperately. And before they start talking about palliative care, you might as well get ahead, be proactive and start talking about taking your mother home.
We have a number of clients at home on BiPAP and we have looked after adults and children at home on BiPAP over the years, whether it was for weaning them off the BiPAP, whether it was for end of life care. Now, Keith, you haven’t said whether your mom can be weaned off the BiPAP. You haven’t said whether it’s potentially for palliative care. I presume your mom doesn’t have a tracheostomy, but it’s not clear from your question in any case, whether she does have a tracheostomy or she doesn’t, the bottom line is, there is no quality of life in ICU. And the best option for quality of life at home is Intensive Care at Home.
We are bringing the intensive care into your home or into your mom’s home with critical care, registered nurses 24 hours a day. It helps hospitals as well to free up their ICU beds and they’re the most sought after bed in a hospital, and it’s a win-win situation.
So, go home with a regular team. It’s not like in a hospital where staff change all the time. Today your mom might be looked after by this nurse tomorrow, she’s looked after by that nurse. Whereas at home, we are trying to create stable teams. So your mom has the same nurses over and over again who can build a relationship with her, who can understand her routine, who can understand her needs, inside out. That’s really what we’re specialized on with Intensive Care at Home.
It’s all about the tailor-made approach for patients and their families, so she can have at home what she really wants for her condition.
So I hope that helps Keith to understand, what we can do for your mom at home. And you should contact us as the next step.
And if you are a hospital executive watching this or a hospital ICU doctor, ICU nurse manager, you should contact us as well because we can do the same for you. It’s a win-win situation. Everyone is winning Intensive Care at Home.
So, and if you’re an NDIS support coordinator, NDIS specialist support coordinator and one of your participants needs nursing care because they have a ventilator, tracheostomy, BiPAP, CPAP, home TPN, et cetera, please contact us as well.
And if you’re stuck in ICU yourself and you’re watching this video or if you’re a family member who has a loved one stuck in intensive care, you’re probably living in ICU spending day and night in there. Please contact us. We can help you with going home.
And if you are a critical care registered nurse with a minimum of two years’ critical care nursing experience, ideally, with a postgraduate qualification, we want to hear from you. If you’re looking for a career change, we have roles in the community for CCRNs. Currently, we are looking for CCRNs in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
And if you are an intensive care specialist, we want to hear from you as well. We are currently expanding our medical team as well. Please contact us as well.
Now, thank you so much for watching this video.
Contact us at intensivecareathome.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply email us at [email protected].
We also have a membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There you have access to me and my team 24 hours a day in a membership area and via email and we answer all questions, intensive care and Intensive Care at Home related.
We also provide NDIS nursing assessments or any other nursing assessments you might need.
We also offer medical record reviews in intensive care or after intensive care.
Thank you so much for watching.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home. Click the like button, click the notification bell. Share the video with your friends and families and comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have from this video.
Thanks for watching.
This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com and I will talk to you in a few days.
Take care for now.