Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Alvarado Hospital is ranked among the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Critical Care™ in America by Healthgrades (2014). This means your loved ones are in the very best hand’s in the nation. Our goal is to provide the highest level of care and comfort to our patients and their loved ones while in the intensive care unit (ICU).

If you have any questions or concerns, call us at 619-287-3270.

Call for Information

Family members and friends play an important role in the patient recovery process and are encouraged to visit. However, to protect the privacy of all patients in the ICU, we ask that visitors notify the nurse before entering the unit. There is an intercom system located just outside the locked ICU entrance to contact the nurses’ station for entry.

Also for patient privacy, visitors are requested to remain at the bedside. If you need to step away, kindly let the nurse know. Click here to view current visiting hour and policies.

There may be times when the nurse will ask visitors to step out for a few minutes depending on the care being provided. Prior to returning to the bedside, use the intercom system located outside the ICU.

Children

Due to the critical nature of the ICU, visitors must be 14 years of age or older to visit. Special arrangements may be made with the charge nurse for younger children to visit. Please do not allow children to crawl on the floor or be left unaccompanied at any time. Prepare your children in advance as to what to expect in the ICU.

Safety Issues

Latex balloons, live plants and flowers can be hazardous to critical patients and are not allowed on the unit. In addition, cell phones can sometimes interfere with medical equipment and must be turned off.

We request that you do not bring food or drinks of any kind into the ICU. There is a cafeteria and vending machines on the first floor of the hospital for dining and snacking.

Communication

Privacy regulations restrict the amount and type of patient information the hospital staff can provide. To ensure that there is an effective exchange of information, select one person to be the family’s primary contact person.

The primary contact person may be contacted by the healthcare team as patient-related information needs to be communicated. The contact person is then responsible for providing updates to other family members and friends. This allows the caregivers to spend more time at the bedside with the patient.