Welcome to SCCM's Patient and Family Website
When a loved one becomes critically ill or injured, you enter a very stressful period. Your loved one is in a critical care unit—a challenging and often unfamiliar environment of care. Your loved one's care may be being directed by an intensivist, a possibly unfamiliar physician, and a very large number of staff is caring for your loved one. If your loved one is unable to interact with the healthcare team, you may be called upon to make a variety of important decisions within a relatively short time frame.
Each of these circumstances may create feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Admission of a patient into an intensive care unit (ICU) is recognized as a stressful experience for families, and having your needs and considerations met is an important part of critical care.
Information to Help You and Your Family
Make Important Healthcare Decisions
Critical care is the sophisticated medical and nursing care provided to patients facing life-threatening illness or injury. This website, developed by the Patient and Family Support Committee of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation, will link you to a variety of resources and brochures that may help you understand the ICU environment and the care that is delivered there.
Society of Critical Care Medicine's Statement on End-of-Life Care
Increased attention is paid to the complexities of end-of-life decision making and to the potentially tragic circumstances facing all critically ill or injured patients and their families. Read SCCM's complete statement on end-of-life care, part of SCCM's LearnICU website.
