What does it mean to be Chronically Critically Ill (CCI)?
The chronically critically ill include patients who experience a prolonged recovery time from an acute illness or have a condition that results in chronic health problems that have needed critical care intervention.
The Extended ICU in Bay 6 helps patients establish and meet goals of care, such as weaning from the ventilator, maximizing rehabilitation, ensuring good nutrition, and promoting psychological recovery.
What does an CIRP stay mean?
The CIRP can be a stepping stone to discharge from hospital. The patient’s condition must be stable before being considered for transfer to the CIRP. People in CIRP are generally on the mend, but still needs time to recover and rehabilitate before moving to community care.
Admission to the CIRP can also be a transition from the home or community setting back to the hospital in order to recover from an illness with some extra support and monitoring. An example would be a person who uses long term ventilation at home, comes down with pneumonia, and is sick enough to need hospital care.
When can the patient go home or to community care?
Patients who need long term ventilation are assessed on a case-by-case basis to decide whether their health care needs can be safely provided at home or elsewhere in the community.
If the criteria are met, discharge planning may begin between acute care and the receiving facility or care providers.
Please click on the link below for an example of the education needed to provide care at home:
Health Force Ontario: Support for discharge from CIRP to community or home care (College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario).
Community Care Possibilities
Participation House Support Services provides home-based supports to people with complex physical needs including
those who are technology dependent. With support, individuals live within a shared home environment and participate in their local
community.
Working in partnership with doctors, hospitals and other community services, we are able to provide a valuable service that
enriches the community, the individuals and their families.
The Complex Care Program at Parkwood Hospital provides a clinical setting for patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation (LTV) and has five beds within the Complex Care Program that can be used for the residential care of "medically stable" ventilator dependant individuals.
The purpose of transferring these individuals to the Complex Care Program is to provide a more appropriate setting to care for and manage their health, welfare and social needs. This transfer will also help increase the capacity of critical care areas across the region. This facility is not mandated, staffed or resourced to facilitate protocols for attempting weaning from mechanical ventilation.
