Abstract

Technologic advances in the past ten years, coupled with the advent of a new specialty of critical care medicine, have made it possible for patients to survive major surgical procedures and critical illnesses which, ten years ago, would have resulted in certain death. In 1979, a group of emergency physicians, with training and experience in critical care medicine, initiated a program of critical care at Cedars of Lebanon Health Care Center, a private nonprofit hospital. This program provides critical care physician (intensivist) coverage similar to that presently available in emergency departments throughout the country. This program has completely changed the pattern of practice in the critical care area. Since its implementation, critical care procedures and aggressive therapy are provided around the clock. We believe that such coverage is essential and suggest that, just as the emergency department became fully staffed ten years ago, in the future, most intensive care units of private hospitals of 300 beds or more will be covered by intensivists working around the clock to provide critical care at the time it is needed.