Caring for the chronically critically ill patient: establishing a wound- healing program in a respiratory care unit

Chronically critically ill patients may recover from their acute catastrophic illness but still require intensive nursing care. In the Respiratory Care Unit (RCU) at Mount Sinai Hospital, nurse practitioners, working with nurses and physicians, act as coordinators of care for these patients. This interdisciplinary collaboration is the basis of the RCU wound healing program and has brought about desirable patient outcomes.