Redefining critical care in a modern, state-of-the-art hospital

Sep 16, 2024

 

It can’t be overstated: The Ottawa Hospital’s critical care department is the lifeline for patients whose lives are immediately at risk. 

Tasked with providing care for patients at their most vulnerable, critical care teams at TOH balance medical expertise, innovation and compassion to deliver the best care possible. 

As a pillar of TOH’s new campus – which will be home to a state-of-the-art hospital and academic research centre – the new critical care unit will be finely tuned to meet the diverse needs and challenges of critically ill patients and their families in the future. 

The term ‘critical care’ is broad and encompasses a wide spectrum of care. 

Patients in TOH’s critical care unit are the most ill in our hospital and face some of the most complex, life-threatening situations. This includes patients requiring life support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), interventional care in the trauma unit or the Neurosciences Acute Care Unit (NACU), as well as many intensive therapies in which patients require additional oxygen or monitoring. 

“At the highest level, we’re taking care of the sickest of the sick patients when their life is immediately being threatened,” says Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, Head of the Critical Care Department at The Ottawa Hospital. As part of a larger team, he’s working to highlight areas of opportunity in TOH’s critical care unit of the future. 

“We not only have to keep in mind the needs that we have now in 2024, but the needs that we’ll have when the new campus opens,” he says. “We know our population is aging and will get more sick, so the demand for critical care services is going to expand.”

Enhancing patient and family experiences

Admission to critical care for any reason is very difficult for patients and families, but Dr. Kyeremanteng believes that enhancements at the new campus will help increase their level of comfort. 

“Having private, single-patient rooms where families can be alone with their loved ones can help make that difficult time a little less scary or traumatic,” he says, while adding that other significant additions like new procedure rooms will help reduce risks associated with patient movement throughout the hospital. 

“When you’re critically ill, any movement for a procedure like a CT scan is a big deal,” says Dr. Kyeremanteng. “To be able to provide patients with procedures in the same unit when you have concerns about moving the patient will be a game changer.” 

Planning teams at TOH are also exploring advancements in technology that could help staff regularly monitor patients from afar to best support them – not just in the ICU, but throughout the hospital. Dr. Kyeremanteng explains that taking advantage of modern health-care technology will help revolutionize how we provide care to patients. 

“I think leveraging the virtual landscape to amplify our ability to monitor patients will be extremely transformative, as it will help us anticipate and address their care needs earlier,” he says. 

Throughout the planning and development of TOH’s new campus, the lived experiences of our teams – from nurses and technicians to physicians and administrators – are informing design plans. 

Re-evaluating the entire critical care unit is a rare opportunity to improve efficiencies and flexibility within it, according to Joni Ettinger, the Director of Clinical Services at The Ottawa Hospital. Her portfolio includes the ICUs at the Civic and General campuses of TOH as well as trauma, the NACU and more. 

“Identifying what the ICU needs to be close to and reducing the amount of time between these units will strengthen overall efficiencies in how they function together as a whole,” she explains. “We haven’t had the opportunity to do this as an organization, so it’s really exciting in terms of how it will benefit patient care.”

The next generation of health-care workers

The Ottawa Hospital’s new campus will provide new opportunities for the next generation of health-care workers. 

“A modern, technologically advanced hospital is going to be a natural draw for talent, and people are going to want to work here,” says Dr. Kyeremanteng. “When you’re able to attract the best of the best, patient outcomes improve.” 

Ettinger echoes that sentiment and adds there is data that supports how a new critical care department may help recruit new talent in health care. 

“On the nursing side, there is a large proportion of learners now coming through who have an interest in critical care,” adds Ettinger. “We know they want to provide care for patients who are critically ill, so having a new critical care unit in a state-of-the-art hospital provides an attractive career prospect.” 

Building upon its reputation as one of the largest teaching hospitals in Canada, TOH’s new campus will have enhanced learning spaces in critical care for both new and existing staff.  

“Space is always the most coveted resource for learning, and we’ll have that opportunity at the new campus for things like our extensive nurse training program in the ICU,” says Kyle Gantner, the Clinical Manager of the ICU at TOH’s Civic Campus. “This will be the third hospital build that I’ve been a part of (the first two were in British Columbia), and in my experience it helps retain our talented teams while attracting new staff because they’re all excited about the prospect of something new.”  

When asked about the impact of a new critical care unit at the new campus, Gantner says the biggest thing that comes to mind is opportunity. 

“I see an opportunity for our community and region to be better served, in a way that is meaningful for patients during some of the worst moments of their lives.”