INSIDE THE FRONT LINES FIVE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SHARE WHAT THEIR ROLES MEAN TO THEM AND TO THE PATIENTS THEY CARE FOR AT ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOMERSET.
MICHAEL RODRICKS, MD
MEDICAL DIRECTOR, INTENSIVE CARE UNIT As the medical director of the intensive care unit (ICU), I care for critically ill patients. Our facility has 16 ICU beds, and at any given moment we have four or five ventilators in use. During the pandemic, we saw a massive influx of patients suffering from COVID-19 who were critically ill and required mechanical ventilation (life support). We doubled the size of our ICU and called in all possible resources to help care for the critically ill in our community. For a patient to benefit from a ventilator, a wholescale team approach is needed—these aren’t magical devices that work on autopilot. A critical care nurse with extensive training serves as the linchpin in the care of patients. The amount of labor to care for a ventilated patient is significant, so a nurse ideally cares for no more than two patients at a time. In addition to bedside nurses and physicians of several specialties, other providers who are integral to the care team include respiratory therapists and clinical pharmacists (to help guide constantly evolving treatment plans). As an intensivist, I serve as the captain of the ship, ensuring that everything is being done according to the best evidencebased guidelines. The specter of exposure and falling ill is omnipresent for all frontline providers.
Healthy Together
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COVID-19 Special Issue
6/2/20 10:05 AM
