How an Awake and Walking ICU Saves Lives

The realities of deep sedation and immobility for every patient on mechanical ventilation are clearly addressed. Research on ICU delirium treatment, ICU-acquired weakness, post-ICU PTSD, post-ICU dementia, prolonged time on the ventilator, and mortality related to sedation and immobility practices are applied to real case studies.

Pictures, videos, and case studies will demonstrate the drastic difference in outcomes seen in an Awake and Walking ICU to your audience. ICU team members will gain an understanding of the gaps in our ICU culture and practices and will have a shift in perspective on what is possible and what is vital when it comes to ICU patient care.

Delirium Management in an Awake and Walking ICU

This presentation addresses all the causes of delirium, as well as the risks of each common sedative used in the ICU. The financial burden and impact on outcomes of delirium are presented. Your audience will hear about the role of family and mobility in the prevention and treatment of delirium.

Videos from survivors of sedation and delirium show what it was like under sedation and what life with post-ICU PTSD and post-ICU dementia is like for them now.

Redefining Early Mobility in an Awake and Walking ICU

The history of bedrest, inter-organ connection between the muscles and other systems, and the impact of muscular atrophy on critical illness are shared. The effect of ICU-acquired weakness and diaphragm dysfunction on the rates of death, disability, tracheostomy, and time on the ventilator is revealed.

In this talk, your audience will hear about survivors who discuss their rehabilitation and the life-long impact of ICU-acquired weakness. Research on the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of early mobility is also shared. The science behind the benefits of each level of mobility is explained.

After participating in this presentation, ICU team members will understand mobility as a life-saving intervention. Clinicians will learn to prioritize prompt mobility as a part of best practices.

Outcomes Management in the ICU

In the maze of complications and chaos of critical illness, how can we prioritize interventions and care to optimize short and long-term outcomes?

How does our care today impact patients’ lives in the following weeks, months, and years? How can we structure our process of care to ensure patients have the best chance to survive and thrive?

We dive deep into leadership and outcomes management in the ICU in this presentation.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the ICU

Traditional ICU culture confines ICU clinicians to work separately in silos much to the detriment of patients and hospital systems. Awake and Walking ICUs require interdisciplinary collaboration.

In this presentation, we will discuss the vital role of each discipline in the ICU and how to most effectively work together to provide efficient, cost-effective, and optimal care.

Financial Benefits of the Awake and Walking ICU Approach

The current “normal” process of care for patients on mechanical ventilation that includes automatic prolonged deep sedation and immobility creates significant legal and financial liabilities for hospital systems.

Hospital-acquired complications, decreased reimbursements, disrupted bed flow, burdened workflow for staff, and preventable readmissions are increased when there is a failure to provide evidence-based practices in the ICU.

The financial benefits of delirium prevention and early mobility through protocols such as the ABCDEF Bundle are provided in this presentation.

Optimizing the ABCDEF Bundle for Each ICU Specialty

The ABCDEF Bundle is a guide to optimizing sedation and mobility practices individually for each patient. Even in exceptional cases in which patients may not be safe to be awake and/or mobile during their entire ICU stay, the ABCDEF Bundle is applicable to their care.

We’ll dive deep into how to appropriately choose sedation, and safely apply sedation vacations and early mobility in our diverse ICU specialties.

Protocolization of Humane Care

With a deep understanding of the “why” behind avoiding sedation and implementing early mobility, teams are now ready to discuss the protocolization of this process of care.

The founders of the Awake and Walking ICU, Polly Bailey, ACNP, and Louise Bezdjian, ACNP, will share details of the journey they took to master the principles of the ABCDEF Bundle and change ICU patient care outcomes. There will be multidisciplinary break-offs for respiratory therapists, physicians and advanced practice providers, registered nurses, as well as physical and occupational therapists.

Clinicians from each discipline will guide attendees towards understanding their role in becoming part of an Awake and Walking ICU. ICU clinicians will be empowered with tools to apply this research and understanding to their bedside practice.

The knowledge shared in this webinar will allow them to be confident in their ability to improve patient outcomes through evidence-based sedation and mobility practices.

Communication in an Awake and Walking ICU

Communication with patients on mechanical ventilation is a new skill set and process of care. This presentation discusses the benefits and techniques of using various methods of non-verbal communication.

This webinar will teach ICU clinicians to be comfortable communicating with patients on mechanical ventilation.

They will learn the impact communication has on patient outcomes and will be prepared to incorporate these forms of communication into their practice.

The Fear of Falls

ICU clinicians’ fear of falls contributes to them keeping patients in bed. In this presentation, the culture of safety and the true causes of falls in the ICU are dissected. The role of ICU delirium and ICU-acquired weakness in the incidence of falls is explored. Preventing falls as well as the risk and liability of caregivers through preventing ICU-acquired weakness and delirium is discussed.

The Truth About Unplanned Extubations

Culturally, sedation is believed to prevent unplanned extubations and keep patients “safer.” In this presentation, we will dive into the evidence to understand what is fact and what is myth about unplanned extubations. Tools to protect patients from the dangers of unplanned extubation while optimizing long-term outcomes are provided.

Sedation and Sleep in the ICU: Fact vs. Fiction

When patients are lying “peacefully” with their eyes closed while sedated in the ICU, are they “sleeping”? Kali dives deep into what is really going on from the patient’s perspective and in EEG monitoring. Participants will have a new perspective on sedation and the role sleep plays in surviving critical illness.

Spontaneous Breathing Trials

The ABCDEF Bundle decreases time on the ventilator. Sedation and immobility play significant roles in failed spontaneous breathing trials. In this presentation, participants will learn how to critically think through causes and treatments for failed spontaneous breathing trials to successfully extubate ICU patients.