Southwest Health recently added an additional level of intensive and direct patient care. Through a partnership with UW Health, the eICU program offers an innovative way to monitor and care for patients that need additional care without having to leave Southwest Health. This program supports bedside doctors and nurses of patients caring for patients in an intensive care unit (ICU), intermediate care unit (IMC) or areas such as the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).

The eICU team provides 24 hour, real time care for critically ill patients. Using audio and video, the eICU team can speak directly with patients, family members, and bedside care team. With the addition of this service, the eICU is now included in standard hospital care at Southwest Health.

Dawn Weets, APNP, is a hospitalist at Southwest Health caring for inpatients during 24 hours shifts. She has personal experience working with the eICU program.

“The eICU through UW provides the hospitalists and nurses at Southwest Health a collaborative approach with board certified intensive care physicians and critical care certified nurses in order to care for select critically ill patients in our community. Our focus as a community hospital is to provide top-notch care throughout the entire organization, and this is a new service offered to enhance our abilities. Our entire service area is fortunate to have a rural hospital with readily available expertise from the UW eICU critical care team.” confirms Dawn Weets, APNP.

About Southwest Health 

With its fast-growing range of providers and services, Southwest Health is a high-performing regional healthcare system that puts patient needs first. On the hospital campus in Platteville, Southwest Health provides wide-ranging, high-quality acute care services, including medical and surgical care, emergency and urgent care, Orthopedic Institute, Rehab Services, obstetrics and gynecology, Birth Center, specialty care, cancer care, a comprehensive Eye Center, the area’s largest family medical clinic, Emergency Medical Services, and an outpatient pharmacy. With the offsite locations in Cuba City, Darlington, Lancaster, and Kieler, Southwest Health is bringing high-quality family medicine and specialty care, closer to home.