Welcome to SCCM's Patient and Family Web site
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 health-care 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 to an intensive care unit (ICU) is recognized as a stressful experience for families, and having your needs and considerations met are an important part of critical care.
Information to Help You and Your Family Make Important Health-care Decisions
Critical care is the sophisticated medical and nursing care provided to patients facing life-threatening illness or injury. This web site, developed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (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.
» Patient and Family Support Brochures
» Clinical practice guidelines for support of the family
» Critical Care Questions
» Critical Care Team
» Glossary
» History of Critical Care
Society 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 the
Society's complete statement on end-of-life care, part of SCCM's LearnICU Web pages.