Critical Care

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Service Overview

Critical care is reserved for patients who are suffering from a life-threatening illness or injury, or for those recovering from a life-saving surgery.

Working in multidisciplinary teams, our experts provide around-the-clock, high-quality, compassionate care to each patient during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Our dedicated teams provide high-quality care to patients of all ages across our four medical centers.

What Happens After Critical Care?

Once a patient is well enough to leave the ICU, they may move to another area of the medical center or be transported to a rehabilitation facility to continue their recovery journey.

Conditions & Treatments

Critical care medicine, also referred to as intensive care, involves specialized medical treatment for patients facing severe health conditions or injuries that put their lives at immediate risk.

Examples of medical conditions often seen in intensive care units (ICUs) include:

Heart problems (cardiac conditions)
Breathing problems that require a ventilator
Stroke
Serious infections, including bloodstream infections (sepsis)
Organ failure
Traumatic injuries
Severe burns
Complications related to pregnancy
Conditions requiring brain or spine surgery (neurosurgery)

Patients who undergo a major surgery usually recover in the ICU.

Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO)

ECMO is an advanced type of life support that can help if your heart and/or lungs are too sick to function. It’s a powerful tool that can allow the heart and/or lungs to rest and heal while doctors treat the illness or injury making you sick.

ECMO Care at HPH

Care at Kapiʻolani

Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children provides critical care to patients throughout the state of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region.

Services include:

Intensive care for infants, children, and adults
24-hour emergency pediatric and adult care
Critical care air transport
High-risk pre- and post-natal care

Intensive Care for Infants, Children, and Teens

The NICU and PICU at Kapiʻolani provides care for critically ill and injured newborns, children, and teens.

Board-certified neonatology and pediatric intensive care providers are available 24 hours a day.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Kapiʻolani Medical Center provides a full range of highly specialized medical and surgical services to approximately 1,000 babies from across the state of Hawaiʻi each year.

Newborns from other NICUs on Oʻahu and babies born on neighbor islands are transported to Kapiʻolani when a higher level of care is needed.

NICU Services at Kapi‘olani

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) serves nearly 500 children in Hawaiʻi each year. Patients range in age from 1 week to 21 years of age.

As a teaching facility, Kapiʻolani provides a specialized training academy for PICU nurses who deliver special services and collaborates with other hospitals in the state.

Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO)

ECMO is an advanced type of life support that can help if a patient’s heart and/or lungs are too sick to function. It’s a powerful tool that can allow the heart and/or lungs to heal while doctors treat their illness or injury. For a few qualified patients, it can also be a bridge to transplant or a long-term mechanical support device.

The Neonatal and Pediatric ECMO Program at Kapiʻolani gives 24/7, state-of-the-art care for newborns and children who need advanced lung and heart support.

ECMO Care at Kapiʻolani

Intensive Care for Adults

The Adult Intensive Care Unit (AICU) at Kapiʻolani provides care for critically ill adults. Patients may go to the AICU from the Emergency Department or may move there from another area of the medical center if they become critically ill.

Board-certified adult intensive care providers are available 24 hours a day.

Transport Services

Patients often need to come to Kapiʻolani from other hospitals. Living in an island state, this can require transportation across many miles and sometimes over the ocean.

Thanks to our specialized transport plane and ambulance partnerships, our Kapiʻolani Transport Team is able to answer the call from patients across the state and Pacific region.

For Patients and Family Members

If you or a loved one is being transported to Kapiʻolani, you will receive a helpful transport packet during the transition. The packet will include:

Transport letter for parents
Transport information and frequently asked questions
Travel and hotel resources for parents and family
Transport Program brochure

You can download a copy of the packet for easy reference. For further questions, give us a call at 1-808-983-6000.

For Referring Providers

Please let us know if you need paper copies of our transport packet. For your needs we’ve also provided our referring facility letter. To arrange a transport, call 1-808-983-6555 or toll-free 1-877-581-1027.

Care at Pali Momi

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The ICU at Pali Momi provides care for critically ill adults. Patients may go to the ICU from the Emergency Department or may move there from the operating room or other area of the medical center if they become critically ill.

Board-certified intensive care providers are available 24 hours a day.

Care at Straub Benioff

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The ICU at Straub Benioff provides care for critically ill adults. Patients may go to the ICU from the Emergency Department or may move there from the operating room or other area of the medical center if they become critically ill.

Board-certified intensive care providers are available 24 hours a day.

Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO)

The Adult ECMO Program at Straub Benioff provides support to patients with a range of heart and lung conditions. Our dedicated team of experts uses cutting-edge technology to make a positive impact on patient outcomes.

Mobile ECMO Transport

If a patient at another medical facility is a potential ECMO candidate, we may offer transport to Straub Benioff Medical Center. In certain cases, a patient may be too unstable to transfer without ECMO support. If so, the Straub Benioff Mobile ECMO Team can mobilize and initiate ECMO at other facilities. This is followed by stabilization and transfer to Straub Benioff on ECMO support.

ECMO Care at Straub Benioff

Burn Care Unit

The Straub Benioff Burn Care Unit offers the highly specialized services and multi-specialty team approach that severe burns require. Since burns can affect many functions and systems of the body, we design each treatment and rehabilitation to meet the patient’s unique needs.

Burn Care at Straub Benioff

Care at Wilcox

Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The ICU at Wilcox provides care for critically ill adults. Patients may go to the ICU from the Emergency Department or may move there from the operating room or other area of the medical center if they become critically ill.

Board-certified intensive care providers are available in-person or virtually 24 hours a day.