Has anyone ever been in an ICU unit that was at all private?

[bettyellen]

i have been to hospital ICU units on at least 7-8 occasions, four or five different hospitals and and every single time there were other patients' visitors, family around at all hours, sometimes much more people than were "allowed" to be there, and during hours that were not supposed to be allowed... due to the fact that in some cases, these people were dying, and loved ones wanted to keep vigil. I recall vividly how you could see all the other gravely ill people, whether you wanted to or not..
private rooms, however, are sometimes private, guaranteed private if you have money.
I have spent way too much time in ICUs to believe this. He has to be in worse shape than they are saying.
Anyone ever seen an ICU where you couldn't see all the patients from the main treatment bay? the only walls i have ever seen i a ICU were glass, no one would be there for "privacy".

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. never.

they may have curtains, but no.

[babylonsister]

2. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? This guy is loaded; if he's so

healthy, he could be home by now. :eyes:

[jody]

3. Some hospitals have private suites, etc. reserved for the wealthy. n/t

[uppityperson]

4. It is private in that visitors are restricted, depending on hospital

It depends on the hospital, a patient could be in a totally secluded area with all the equipment there and private nurses. Also, it is (usually) easier to restrict visitors to ICU's. But I think the story has problems also.

[LastDemocratInSC]

5. I've never been a patient in an ICU unit but my wife is an ICU nurse ...

... and she says that while most ICU units have an open floor plan, to facilitate knowledge about what's going on with the patients at any moment and aid communication among the staff, most units have several isolation rooms for those with extremely contagious illnesses. These rooms usually have large windows for the same reasons - communication with others. They are not exactly private but aren't out in the open, either.

[bettyellen]

11. that's my point- the ICU is usually the least private place for a

patient. if he could just the same be in a room with real walls, why would he choose an ICU if he didn't need it?
i have had a much easier time getting in and out of the ICU than regular rooms because the nurses know loved ones freak out, and the patient might die soon. i've been in ICU with a dozen people visiting one person, even though it was supposed to be two. three four visitors instead of two? i've seen it many times.

[Warpy]

6. ICUs in big cities are generally locked down, meaning

someone either has to be identified to the nursing staff and buzzed in or know the keypad code to open the doors. The press would have a very hard time donning scrubs and pushing a linen cart into one to gain access to a VIP.

ICU rooms are private and they all have blinds or curtains that can be closed. Yes, families are granted access 24/7 but generally for 10 minutes each hour, and that visitation can be limited even more at the discretion of the nursing staff if the patient can't tolerate it or if there is nursing care to be done.

Generally, the sicker a patient is, the less likely his curtains are to be pulled, as nursing staff need to make direct observation constantly through the glass. People who are sick enough to be in an ICU with their blinds/curtains wide open are not going to be aware of the other patients in the unit, although visiting family members might find it distressing to see other critically ill patients through their windows. Blinds and curtains are closed only when the patient is exposed, either during bathing or during invasive procedures done at the bedside. They may also be closed when the patient is expiring and multiple family members are at the bedside.

Most VIPs start out in ICUs because they're locked wards but are transferred out to regular private rooms as soon as security can be arranged.

[Dunvegan]

9. I'm imagining a reporter from the Inquirer sitting in the parking lot...

...waiting for orderlies going to their cars late at night.

"Pssst...$20K for a picture on your phone cam."

[bettyellen]

12. they generally only allow you to close the blinds during a brief visit

and have open plans, where all patients beds can be seen from one desk/ treatment area. so it is in general, less private.
i'm sure he can afford any security he might need, and any machines or extra on call docs he needs and wants in a private setting. i have found just getting in some hospitals harder than getting in the ICU. i know security has increased the last few years in NYC.
but i was never limited to short visits, gosh, they let me stay all night a few times. but i have literally had a harder time with regular visits. i think they let the red tape get in the way more when it's not critical. :shrug:

[sandnsea]

7. My Medicare mother had private ICU

I don't know if it's because she was a transplant patient and couldn't be around any sort of contagious bacteria; or because she was a royal pain in the ass; but she always had a private room when she was hospitalized.

[kzootalker]

8. Yes, I spent 5 days in an ICU ward

I'm a type 1 diabetic, they had to keep a close eye on me!! I had my own private room the entire time.

[mucifer]

10. I'm an RN. He probably is in an isolation room. ICUs have them.

At Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, because of privacy issues, the ICU is in a maze. I have a friend who worked their who felt it was dangerous because you can't see as much from a central location.

[bettyellen]

13. every isolation room i've seen was glass though- because it is dangerous

if you can't see to monitor them. when they moved to more private nearby they'd call it "step down" a more private, but more equipped room near the ICU that's monitored more often.
it's not like i'm worrried he's not getting the care, i just think it's in case he takes another bad turn, they can say they did everything they could. obviously he's rich enough to import his own ICU anywhere he wants it.
but normally an ICU ain't more private, not for most of us.

[carolinalady]

15. They are glass, but they have curtains that can be drawn to

give the patient privacy during procedures and personal hygiene.

[carolinalady]

14. The 50 bed hospital I worked at had 5 private rooms and 3

open units for the most critical. The main thing about an ICU is that there is strict access from Joe Public unlike other units in the hospital. That is where the privacy thing comes in.

[bettyellen]

18. wow, that's smaller than any i've been to

usually there's an open plan with 7-8 beds and glassed 3-4 isolation units. with curtains only used for brief periods.
i've only know people to go from there to "step down" to actually have walls and privacy.
i guess they will be able to control visitors better, but it always had been my experience that they were a lot more flexible about the rules there as long as you were quiet, but that's if they know your face, of course.
maybe it is easier to control. just a regular visit to to a hospital in NY is so much harder than it used to be. 9/11, terra, security.

[librechik]

16. you have your own nurse, that's a bit private

all the rest of your points are true and make me curious

[Cleita]

17. In my little village, our local hospital's ICU is

five rooms surrounding the nurses station. Actually, the rooms only have a curtain in front of them but they are separate from the other patients and their families. I spent a few days and nights there with my husband. I can imagine in larger cities that they could be really crowded and impersonal.

[onyourleft]

19. Yes, I was in a "private" ICU.

I had a heart attack a little over 5 years ago. My room in the ICU had 4 walls and a door, no curtains. I really did have a great deal of privacy and why not? I was attached to all kinds of monitors that were easily read from the nursing station, which was not too far outside my room. They even allowed me the luxury of having the door closed at night to sleep to cut down on the noise from other rooms. :)

[bettyellen]

20. i'm glad you're better. maybe what i've seen is a big city/crowded hospita

phenomenon. every hospital ICU i'm thinking about is in NYC or within 2 miles, and none too ritzy.

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. Yes. the ICU I was in last year was completely private. MrG could

only visit me for 15 minutes every two hours and the rooms were in a circle with glass fronts that looked out onto the nurses' desk area. They were really private. I felt very removed from life.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

22. Rooms are usually private, but as a rule, ICUs are the LEAST private

setting you can imagine. By definition, you have to be monitored much more closely and there's a lot more nursing personnel in and out.

An ICU is one of the WORST places you can put someone if the ONLY reason is privacy, as it's one of the best places to pick up antibiotic resistant bacteria, since the sickest patients are there. Most hospitals have plenty of options for regular rooms that are private.

As a lie, the notion that dude was put in ICU for privacy reasons, is one of the WORST and most STUPID of the MANY lies that have come out of this.

[mainer]

23. You're absolutely right, of course. I wondered this too.

ICU's are not private. There's a lot of glass partitions, a lot of personnel, a lot of sick patients in one large area. If they really wanted to protect Whittington's privacy, they would have put him on a regular ward, in a private room that could be guarded by security personnel.

He wasn't put into the ICU for privacy. He was put there because he as one sick puppy.

[Left Is Write]

24. My only ICU experience is with the NICU.

That was not private.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. I've been in lots of hospitals with private ICU rooms

All rooms are seeable from the main station, but usually have the curtains closed.

In my experience, the rarity has been the non-private ICU, and the only one I've seen is at NYU Medical Center which are basically open rooms full of beds, with a few beds set behind walls and somewhat private.

Even when I was a kid, I had my own ICU room.

[laruemtt]

26. 5 days in ICU following a near fatal car wreck -

totally private - or so i was told as i don't remember anything of it for the first few days.