Intensive care unit in southern New Hampshire

Parkland Medical Center provides intensive care to patients who need close monitoring and advanced medical support. Our intensive care unit (ICU), sometimes called a critical care unit (CCU), treats medical and surgical patients, including patients recovering from serious illnesses or complex surgeries.

For more information about our intensive care services, please call (877) 642-2362.

You may be admitted to intensive care for:

  • Recovery from surgery
  • Brain injuries, such as bleeding, trauma, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), tumors or comas
  • Heart problems, such as very low or very high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat or heart attack
  • Lung and breathing problems, such as acute asthma, severe pneumonia or pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung)
  • Serious infections, including sepsis

Specialized ICU team

Our intensive care teams include:

  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Respiratory therapists
  • Nutritionists and dietitians
  • Physical therapists
  • Pharmacists
  • Social workers
  • Clergy

Exceptional ICU hospital services

Intensive care at Parkland goes beyond typical inpatient support by offering the following services:

  • Concentrated care: ICU doctors and nurses are specially trained to care for individuals with the most serious illnesses or injuries. Our patients and families experience compassionate, attentive and expert care around the clock.
  • Advanced technology: We’re committed to using the most advanced technologies, procedures and equipment to help our patients. We use the following technology and more, often resulting in shorter hospital stays and better outcomes:
    • Remote monitoring, which helps our caregivers deliver a constant, high level of attention and responsiveness
    • Hypothermia therapy, which reduces organ damage following cardiac arrest
    • Bedside equipment, which allows invasive and noninvasive cardiopulmonary monitoring
  • Safety and security: We closely monitor patients around the clock and only admit approved visitors to the units.

Critical care visitor guidelines

Please designate one person as the primary contact person to receive updates on your loved one’s condition from the critical care nursing staff. All phone inquiries about the patient’s condition will be referred to the patient’s designated contact person.

This primary contact person will receive a privacy code to use with the patient’s name when calling for updates. When we have both the patient’s name and privacy code, we’ll transfer your call to the nurse caring for the patient. Our nurses will contact this spokesperson if there’s any change in your loved one’s condition.

Visiting the ICU

Parkland Medical Center allows 24-hour patient visitation with a patient agreement and at the discretion of the nursing staff. If you need to visit after 8 p.m., enter through the Emergency Department and you will be escorted to your destination.

Help us observe quiet hours, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, to help our patients heal. Ask the nursing staff about the special circumstances that might allow you to visit during these periods.

Guidelines for visiting the intensive care unit

Our visitor guidelines are designed to provide critically ill patients with the best possible setting for recovery. Special accommodations may be possible upon request.

To help us help your loved one, please:

  • Limit ICU visitors to two at the patient’s bedside during regular visiting hours.
  • Exchange visitors and information in the waiting areas, not at the bedside or in doorways.
  • Use the waiting area when not visiting in the patient’s room to help limit traffic in hallways, doorways and the unit itself to help us comply with all fire and safety regulations and patient confidentiality rules.
  • Use hand sanitizers on the wall near the door of each room when entering and leaving. Infection control guidelines are set to help patient recovery—GEL IN and GEL OUT.
  • Do not bring flowers, plants or animals into the ICU.
  • Do not eat or drink in the ICU.
  • Limit cell phone use and keep conversations in a quiet tone. Set phone ringers on low volume or vibrate.
  • Consider the risk to ICU patients and the need for your visit if you have a fever or symptoms of an infectious illness (cold, flu). If you might be ill, reschedule your visit.
  • Provide direct supervision for children. For safety reasons, please keep toddlers and infants at home.
  • Rest and take care of yourself so you’re in the best possible health to help your loved one’s recovery.
  • To protect your loved one’s health, step out of the ICU when requested while we perform procedures or stabilize a patient.

Patients should send clothes and valuables, including money and jewelry, home with a trusted family member as we cannot be responsible for these items. In accordance with our guidelines for all visitors, we maintain a strict no-weapons policy.

Take care of yourself

Because the best thing you can do for your loved one is to stay healthy, we encourage you to take breaks and go home to rest. If you leave, we can provide you with a beeper to keep you informed as needed.

Let our staff know if you’d like to visit with a member of the clergy. Our staff can make arrangements with a member of your clergy.