Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The Intensive Care Unit often called the ICU, is specially designed to provide ongoing, intensive nursing attention for those who are seriously ill or injured or who suffer from complex health conditions. Patients may be admitted to the unit after surgery, or because of monitoring and support offered only in the intensive care unit.

Admission to and transfer from the unit takes place when the physician and nurse decide that it is best for the patient to be in the intensive care unit. This makes it possible to keep a careful watch on the patient for any untoward results of surgery, changes in their condition, and to closely monitor particular medications and therapies that have been prescribed.

If you have any questions or concerns about why your family member needs to be in the intensive unit, do not hesitate to express them to the physician or to any of the intensive care unit nurses who are caring for your loved one. Family members play a vital role in patient care if they know and understand what is taking place. 

Call 828-286-5000 for more information.

Rutherford Regional's Intensive Care Unit has

• A spacious waiting room with more privacy for the family.
• A private elevator just for ICU
• Comfortable furniture in the family waiting room
• Larger patient rooms to accommodate ever-changing technology
• A wall of windows because studies have shown that being able to see out of a window aids the healing process

It will never be easy to need critical care or to have a family member in the Intensive Care Unit, but the trained staff of the ICU at Rutherford Regional Medical Center will try to make the experience as comfortable as possible for both patients and families.