We take the health and safety of our kids for granted sometimes.  It’s easy to do in the thick of motherhood. But, things happen. Broken bones or the flu happen to most kids.  But, the really tough, scary stuff can happen too. We remind kids to buckle up, we make sure they are wearing helmets and life jackets. But, serious accidents happen.  Serious illness happens. And if it does, what do we do? We take a deep breath and be thankful that there is a hospital nearby with a full pediatric intensive care unit.  

EIRMC has a PICU dedicated to critical care for children

Did your heart just sink a little bit?  I know. It’s heartbreaking to hear and gut-wrenching to think about the “what-ifs”, but just like adults may need care in an ICU – kids need a PICU.  When kids are at their most fragile state, they need an intensive care unit built for them. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is the only one in southeast Idaho.  Just as pediatricians specialize in caring for kids, the PICU specializes in treating and caring for kids in serious, life-threatening situations. Kids need special care, devices, and equipment that fits their tiny, fragile needs.  They need nurses and doctors that know what a child in a PICU needs, and a staff that knows what that child’s parents and family needs.

The PICU at EIRMC is run by board-certified pediatric intensivists with additional training in critical care medicine for kids. These doctors have spent an additional three years of fellowship with kids in critical care. Let’s take a minute to appreciate that.  If you’re the parent of a child in the PICU you’re scared, but you can find a slice of comfort knowing that the doctors and nurses caring for your child know what kids need. Yes, the nurses are specially trained as well. The nurses in the PICU at EIRMC are trained in and dedicated to pediatric critical care. They are not coming from the adult ICU to care for kids – they are with kids in critical care all the time.

So, why is this a big deal?

Only two hospitals in Idaho have Pediatric Intensivists on staff and one of those is right here in Idaho Falls. Imagine for a minute you are in a severe car accident on I-15. Your kids are in the car with you. You are injured and need ICU care…and so do your children. Before the PICU at EIRMC, you would stay here for care, but your kids would be put in a helicopter to Salt Lake City.  Your fighting for your own life, while not knowing what’s happening with your children 3 ½ hours away. Imagine your spouse – do they go to Salt Lake to be with your kids or stay to be by your side? Thankfully, these are not questions that need to be answered – everyone is right here, close to home.

The PICU treats our infants through eighteen-year-olds.  While we all hope we never have to be in this situation, there is a sense of comfort in knowing we are close to a hospital that can care for our kids in these scary circumstances.  EIRMC’s PICU treats kids that have been in traumatic car accidents to drownings to attempted suicides to diabetic ketosis and so much more. If you caught our previous post, Just In Case: Why You Need To Understand Your Hospital’s NICU, you know that Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center provides quality, specialized critical care at any stage of life.  So, the hospital that cared for your newborn can continue to be the place you turn to in an emergency for anyone in your family.