Post ICU

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Anchor lead: What can people who leave the ICU after Covid-19 expect? Elizabeth Tracey reports

ICU stays are fraught with challenges, and these continue even after someone leaves the unit. Johns Hopkins has created a special unit to help people who’ve survived an ICU stay with Covid-19 transition. Megan Hosey, a faculty member on the unit, says first of all people need to be gentle with themselves.

Hosey: ICU is a lot like any other major life experience people have. So life is never the same before and after you get married. It’s never the same before and after the death of a parent. And I think ICU is very similar in that it is a challenging experience. When I say they shouldn’t expect life to look the same I just think that we’re giving people the heads up that they’ve experienced a major life event and that might be how they perceive it.  :31

Hosey says acknowledging the challenges of critical illness is the foundation of healing. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.