American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Two young adults with severe facial injuries were receiving care in the trauma/surgical intensive care unit at a tertiary care, level I trauma center in the southeastern United States. Both patients were able to communicate by texting on their cellphones to family members, friends, and caregivers in the intensive care unit. Patients who are awake and already have experience texting with a smartphone or other electronic handheld device may be able to communicate well while receiving mechanical ventilation.
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Although many critical care experts and national organizations support open visitation in intensive care units (ICUs), most ICU visiting policies do not allow unrestricted presence of patients' family members. ⋯ In a neuroscience ICU with an open visitation policy and a private suite for patients' family members, family members rated their needs as being met at a high level, unlike in prior studies in units with limitations on family visitation. The rank order of the importance of each need in the survey was similar to rankings in prior studies in a variety of critical care units.