Introduction
In June 1991, our hospital pioneered the establishment of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), serving as the primary treatment center for critically ill patients and high-risk postoperative individuals. Over time, it evolved into a cornerstone supporting all clinical departments within the hospital. Responding to increasing demand, the Intensive Care Unit expanded from its original 10 beds to a comprehensive 30-bed ICU in 2016, and the Department of Critical Care Medicine was formally established in 2017. By 2023, in response to rising patient volumes, a second ward with 21 beds, including 4 single rooms and 1 negative pressure ward, was established, equipped with cutting-edge monitoring and treatment equipment.
Treating over 3,000 patients annually, the Department of Critical Care Medicine manages a spectrum of critical conditions, encompassing cardiopulmonary and cerebral resuscitation, polytrauma, various sepsis presentations, severe pneumonia, ARDS, perioperative support for elderly hip surgeries, complications of tumor immunosuppressive therapy, and post-stem cell transplantation life support. As a specialized center for critically ill pregnant women, the department safeguards the lives of such patients in southwest Shanghai, achieving a remarkable treatment success rate of 98.6% in 2023. The Department of Critical Care Medicine of Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital is a member of the Chinese Critical Care Ultrasound Alliance and the Nursing Group of the Chinese Medical Association’s Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Society. In addition, the department places great emphasis on humanistic care for critically ill patients and their families, aiming to improve not only survival rates but also the quality of recovery.
The Department of Critical Care Medicine has been praised as the “special forces” of saving lives and helping the wounded, and has received numerous honorary titles. In August 2020, it was honored as Shanghai Advanced Group in Fighting the Covid-19 Epidemic, and in 2021-2022, it received the Shanghai Youth Model in the Health System. The nursing team was awarded the Shanghai March 8th Red Flag in 2022 and the Shanghai May 4th Youth Medal in the Health System in 2021. Renowned as a beacon of spiritual enlightenment, the department has consistently been lauded as a demonstration ward for fostering spiritual civilization.
Cultural enrichment forms the bedrock of the department's ethos. Embracing a culture of "unity + compassion," it actively engages in charitable endeavors, organizing fundraising events to procure books for donation to primary schools in remote regions of Guizhou, fostering a compassionate children's book corner. Moreover, the department prioritizes party building and integrity education, conducting regular integrity education sessions, party member thematic meetings, and democratic evaluations, fostering a ethos of wholehearted service and reinforcing party members' ideals and beliefs.
As a burgeoning department, the Department of Critical Care Medicine remains steadfastly patient-centric, dedicated to delivering efficient, safe, and high-quality medical care to help critically ill patients surmount their challenges. Its endeavors and achievements have earned widespread recognition and acclaim, earning it the moniker of special forces in saving lives and healing the wounded.
Specialties
Proficient in a myriad of critical care and treatment modalities, the department excels in vital monitoring technologies, hemodynamic and respiratory function monitoring, analgesia and sedation for critically ill patients, life support technologies (including CPR, mechanical ventilation, blood purification, hemodynamic support ECMO, etc.), enteral and parenteral nutrition techniques, organ support, and inflammation control. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the Department of Critical Care Medicine collaborates closely with sister departments to deliver comprehensive patient care. Pioneering the establishment of a hospital-wide extracorporeal life support (ECMO) center, it engages in interdisciplinary collaboration with clinical pharmacists and rehabilitation therapists to provide holistic team management.
