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The Kessler Burn & Trauma Center ICU is a 19,000 square foot, world-class Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for adults. The Kessler Family ICU is strategically located directly above the Emergency Department at Strong Memorial Hospital. Currently, the Kessler Burn Center is the only center in the Rochester area capable of treating children with burns.

The Kessler Burn & Trauma Center has 23 rooms, with 16 dedicated intensive care rooms and 7 Burn/Step-Down rooms. It is among the nation's finest burn units. It provides holistic care to critically injured burn patients from the point of injury to long-term care. The Kessler Trauma Center treats over 3,000 people a year with severe blunt and penetrating injuries. We are Western New York's largest and Rochester's only trauma center.

The intensive care rooms in the Kessler Family ICU have special environmental controls and ventilation systems to aid in patient management. The unit is equipped with the latest informational technology support, including wireless connections and telephony support. All rooms have attached computer stations for immediate access to patient information to streamline their care.

The Kessler Family ICU also includes:

• Family waiting room, spacious and private, so family members have a quiet place to rest and spend time together.
• Centralized nursing stations located at either end of the unit, to make it easy for nurses to carefully monitor patients and quickly respond to their needs.
• Step-Down patient rooms where less critically ill patients stay during their recovery in the hospital.
• Classroom for presentations, support group meetings and other gatherings, with materials for patients, family members and staff.
• Consultation room, a centrally located space where families can speak or meet with physicians and other team members privately; this alternative to trying to speak privately in a hallway is one more way this unit will ease the anxieties of people already under stress.
• Hydrotherapy Room

This combined center, where burn and trauma patients are cared for in the same area, is one of the first in the nation and is expected to become a national model for burn and trauma care. Burn and trauma care are distinct specialties, but because of the similarities in the types and severity of injuries, the issues facing patients and staff often overlap. This center makes care more efficient and effective, taking advantage of easy access to the best people and equipment available.

We welcome you to visit between 11:30 a.m.–8 p.m. every day. However, please try to avoid coming between 3–4 p.m. and 7–8 p.m. This is when our nurses change shifts. They need to exchange reports and update each other about each patient’s condition. So, they won’t be able to speak with you about your loved one.

Visiting hours in the Kessler Family ICU differ from other areas. Check with the ICU nursing staff for specific information.

Sometimes we may ask you to wait in the waiting room for a short time before your visit. We will do this only if we’re in the middle of helping the patient, such as giving a bath, or an evaluation or doing a procedure.

Visitor Guidelines

You can help us provide the highest quality care for our patients. When you follow the guidelines below, we’ll be able to create the most peaceful, respectful, healing environment for your loved one. Of course, we try to be as flexible and accommodating to your needs as possible.

• Visitors must be 12 years or older.
• Two visitors at a time are allowed at the bedside.
• If we ask you to step out for a minute or wait before seeing your loved one, wait in the waiting room.
• We’re happy to discuss your loved one’s condition with you any time except during nursing shift changes (3–4 p.m. and 7–8 p.m.).
• Do not use cell phones anywhere in the Burn/Trauma bay. They interfere with equipment we use to monitor patients’ vital signs.
• Please use the phones in the visitor’s lounge. The phones in the Burn/Trauma bay are for hospital staff only.
• Please do not bring or send fresh flowers or fruit.

Appoint a Family Spokesperson

We understand that you and everyone in your family want to know how your loved one is doing, and want updates as often as possible.

That’s why we ask you to appoint a family spokesperson who will get all medical and nursing updates, and share the information with the rest of the family. This is a very efficient way to improve communication, ensure confidentiality, and help our staff focus their time.

Your family spokesperson will be the only person who may phone us for updates about the patient’s condition. He or she can call anytime, except during nursing shift changes (when the nurses ending a shift are busy updating those who are starting the new shift).

Shift changes are:

• 7–8 a.m.
• 3–4 p.m.
• 7–8 p.m.
• 11 p.m.–12 a.m.

Our goal in treating burn patients is to help them recover as fully, quickly, and comfortably as possible. That's why the burn treatment team stays by the patient's side throughout the entire treatment process.

Because time is the critical and a determining factor in the outcome of burn and trauma patients, we’re set up to streamline and speed all aspects of the initial treatment process. As soon as a burn or trauma patient arrives, whether by ambulance or helicopter, we evaluate him or her in our Emergency Department.

Each of our current 7 emergency bays is fully equipped with a complete array of state-of-the-art equipment, including:

• In-room x-ray and ultrasound machines
• The latest wound care materials
• Warming equipment
• A dedicated CAT scan in the emergency department for trauma patients

Once the patient is evaluated and stabilized, we transport him or her in our extra-wide elevators that accommodate all the necessary equipment and staff (located right outside of the Emergency Department) to an operating room or to the Inpatient Unit on the 3rd floor. Not a moment is wasted.

We continue to follow and care for our patients throughout the entire recovery and rehabilitation process—until he or she is back to work or normal daily activities.

The process begins with extensive evaluation and resuscitation procedures during the first three days after injury. During this acute phase, we concentrate on helping the patient be as comfortable as possible, providing fluids and checking for other related injuries and conditions.

Throughout the healing process, we use the most advanced technologies and innovative treatments available, such as skin grafts and vacuum-assisted closure techniques (VAC). Other important components of the healing process are hydrotherapy, wearing pressure garments, rehabilitation, and nutrition.