Do you sometimes feel at a loss for words when family members ask, "why does my loved one look that way?" Do you notice family members often focus all their energy on the loved one in critical care and not on themselves? Do you sometimes encounter difficulty and frustration explaining critical care concepts to patients and their families? 

Having a loved one in the ICU can be stressful time for anyone. The SCCM Patient and Family Support Committee has developed nine brochures to help healthcare practitioners explain in easy and understandable terms the complexities of critical care.

French and Spanish translations of selected brochure series are available below.

Adult

• Evaluating ICU Care in Your Community addresses six topics that related to the quality of care for you to discuss with your ICU
• Common Problems of Critical Illness addresses conditions that may bring a loved one into the ICU or that may develop while in the unit.
• What Are My Choices Regarding Life Support? deals with the decisions patients and families face regarding specific forms of life support.
• Participating in Care: What Questions Should I Ask? guides family members on how to interact most effectively with ICU team members.
• Taking Care of Yourself While a Loved One is in the ICU stresses the importance of self-care while supporting a loved one in the ICU.
• Why Do ICU Patients Look and Act That Way? provides an illustrated guide to equipment and procedures that will affect the loved one's appearance in the ICU.
• Helpful Hospital Safety Tips lists ways you can work with your health care team to make your journey fast, easy, and above all, safe.
• Making Decisions About ICU Care will assist family and ICU team members in sharing the decision -making process in order to provide the best care for your loved one.
• What Should I Expect After Leaving the ICU provides information for you and your loved ones on what to expect following discharge from the ICU.

Pediatric

• Understanding Palliative Care for Children addresses how palliative care can improve your child’s quality of life and reduce your child’s suffering
• When Your Child is Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit is every family's guide to understanding what is happening to their child in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
• Making Decisions When Your Child is Very Sick is a guide to help family and friends understand what difficult decisions need to be made when a child is in the ICU.

Additionally, SCCM offers the brochure Sepsis: What You Should Know. This brochure answers questions families of patients may have regarding what sepsis is and how it is treated in the ICU.

French Translations

• Common Problems of Critical Illness - Troubles fréquemment associés aux maladies graves
• What Are My Choices Regarding Life Support? - Maintien des fonctions vitales : quels sont mes choix?
• Participating in Care: What Questions Should I Ask? - Participer aux soins: quelles questions poser?
• Taking Care of Yourself While a Loved One is in the ICU - Prendre soin de soi-même lorsqu’un proche est aux soins intensifs
• Why Do ICU Patients Look and Act That Way? - Comment expliquer le comportement et l’apparence des patients aux soins intensifs?
• Helpful Hospital Safety Tips - Conseils pratiques de sécurité en milieu hospitalier
• Sepsis: What You Should Know - Sepsis: que devez-vous savoir? 

Spanish Translations

• Common Problems of Critical Illness - Problemas frecuentes de la enfermedad crítica
• What Are My Choices Regarding Life Support? - ¿Cuáles son mis opciones con respecto al soporte vital?
• Participating in Care: What Questions Should I Ask? - Participando en el cuidado: ¿Qué preguntas debo hacer?
• Taking Care of Yourself While a Loved One is in the ICU - Cuidando de usted mientras su ser querido está en la UCI
• Why Do ICU Patients Look and Act That Way? - ¿Por qué los pacientes en la UCI se ven así y actúan de esa manera?
• Helpful Hospital Safety Tips - Recomendaciones de seguridad hospitalaria importantes
• When Your Child is Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit - Cuando su niño es hospitalizado en la unidad de cuidado intensivo
• Making Decisions When Your Child is Very Sick - Tomando decisions cuando su niño se encuentra muy enfermo
• Sepsis: What You Should Know - Sepsis: lo que usted debe saber 

To order brochures for your ICU waiting room, please contact customer service at (847) 827-6888 or visit the SCCM Bookstore.