Intensive Care Units

Methodist Sugar Land Hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is designed to care for patients with critical, potentially life-threatening conditions and is located on the second floor of the hospital. The unit is composed of 20-beds and all private rooms. Patients in the ICU need more intense monitoring and observation. In most instances, patients come to the ICU from the Emergency Department (ED), Operating Rooms, direct admits from other hospitals, from the Cardiac Cath Lab, or from the Medical-Surgical patient care units.

Common conditions treated in our ICU are:

• Surgical Conditions:
  • Cardiovascular surgery such as coronary artery bypass surgery, valve replacement or repair, peripheral vascular procedures such as carotid endarterectomy, femoral-popliteal bypass.
  • Endovascular procedures such as resection of abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid stenting, etc.
  • Neurosurgical procedures such as resection of brain tumors, clipping of cerebral aneurysms, evacuation of cerebral bleeds, transphenoidal pituitary resection, complex spine surgery.
  • Other surgeries might include gastrointestinal procedures and breast reconstruction with flaps.
• Medical Conditions:
  • Respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation (breathing machine)
  • Complex pneumonia
  • Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
  • Acute stroke with clot busters (tPA)
  • Acute change in neurological condition
  • Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
  • Heart failure requiring intravenous medications
  • Inflammation of the heart (pericarditis)
  • Infection (sepsis)
  • Acute renal failure causing electrolyte imbalance or special forms of dialysis
  • Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)
  • Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung vessels)

Our Specialized Team of Experts

At Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, you can rest assured that your loved one is receiving expert care around the clock. Our highly-trained ICU medical and nursing team is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate care.

Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s ICU team of experts includes:

• Specialized Doctors, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
• Patient Care Assistants, Unit Secretaries
• Respiratory Therapists
• Pharmacists known as Pharm D
• Dieticians
• Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists
• Case Manager and Social Worker
• Chaplain

Advanced Technology

Stryker InTouch Critical Care Hospital Bed.

Patients are closely monitored by state-of-the-art GE monitoring systems. Numerous options of technology are available to the patient if the physician deems the therapy is necessary.

Some of the available technology includes:

• Ventilators (breathing machines)
• Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT- a more gradual, or gentler form of dialysis)
• Dialysis
• Intra-aortic balloon pump therapy
• Arctic Sun therapy (hypothermia for cardiac arrest)
• Intercranial pressure monitoring (ICP)
• Continuous cardiac output monitoring
• Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring
• Impella therapy, Rotoprone bed (for prone therapy)
• Smart infusion pumps with guardrails

Methodist Sugar Land Hospital offers 20 Stryker InTouch Critical Care hospital beds. These beds combine advanced technology, intuitive operation and BackSmart ergonomics. Unprecedented functions, such as a built-in calculator and converter, an integrated multi-language translator and a patient weight history graphing tool, provide important information right at the patient’s bedside.

Patient benefits include:

• Instant access to your critical information
• Customizable protocol reminders ensuring that your care remains “on schedule”
• Multi-language translator (pre-recorded clinical phrases in 24 languages) improves communication and understanding for patients who speak limited English

Healing Environment

One of the goals of the ICU is to promote a healing environment. This is achieved by striving to maintain a quiet, calm environment. Serene pictures are in each private room. A television is located in each room with a pillow speaker. The CARE channel is available on channel 18. This channel has soothing music to serene scenery. Channel 19 offers chapel services and inspirational quotes/blessings on the television system while patient education sessions are on other channels. A music therapist volunteer comes to the hospital weekly to visit patients.