The Intensive Care program at Excela Health, often referred to as the Critical
Care Medicine program, is led by board certified critical care physicians
who specialize in treating individuals with life threatening illnesses
such as severe infections (sepsis), severe breathing problems (respiratory
failure0, acute kidney failure, stroke, acute bleeding problems, and other
life threatening conditions. All ICU patients are under constant supervision
of skilled healthcare providers who are specially trained to provide care
for these life threatening conditions. The intensive care program is capable
of providing highly specialized services such as ventilator management,
continuous dialysis, BIPAP, continuous blood pressure and advanced cardiac
monitoring, and artificial nutrition.
The critical care program is multidisciplinary, consisting of dedicated
physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists, dietitians, respiratory
therapists, and nurses trained in the field of intensive care medicine.
The program strives to provide patient-centered and family-oriented care
with an emphasis on evidence-based approaches to improve patient outcomes.
Specialized teams are dedicated to ensure patient comfort and safety throughout
an ICU stay. The critical care program at Excela Health utilizes advanced,
state-of-art technology for bedside patient care (clinical point-of-care
services), such as ultrasonography and telemedicine, to provide optimal
patient outcomes.
There are three intensive care units located within the Excela Health system.
The program strives for a fully integrated system of care for all ICU
patients at Excela Health. Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass
grafting and major cardiothoracic or abdominal surgeries will be admitted
to the Westmoreland Hospital intensive care unit after their surgery.
The Latrobe Hospital ICU is capable of providing ICU services for patients
with serious medical illnesses and patients who have undergone major surgical
procedures. Frick Hospital also has a Critical Care Unit, which houses
patients recovering from a serious event and requiring a higher level of care.
The ICU team performs multidisciplinary rounds every day and is supported
by enhanced provider communication tools such as Electronic Health Records,
Electronic Communication Applications (PerfectServe), and Telemedicine
that supports an integrated approach to patient care.
Under the direction of Nikhil Asher, MD, Medical Director for the Excela
Health Critical Care Intensive Care Unit, our physician-specialists (intensivists)
and acute critical care nurse practitioners are fully committed to providing
the best care for all patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit .
