Avera St. Luke's Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Skilled, Compassionate Professionals at the Patient's Side

Immediate family can call the ICU at 605-622-5557 to inquire about a loved one

With skilled, compassionate professionals and state-of-the-art technology, our team in Avera St. Luke’s Intensive Care Unit is equipped for complex medical care. Our new ICU is part of the southeast addition that opened in early 2006.

Avera St. Luke’s enhanced ICU includes 10 large, private rooms and one nurses’ station for every two rooms. It’s designed so the nurses will essentially be at the patient’s beside in a quieter, more healing environment. Our new ICU also features in-room kidney dialysis, a big convenience for patients with those needs. The ICU is connected to the third-floor medical unit by a walkway.

Extra Level of Care

An extra level of ICU care that the hospital recently added, called Avera e-ICU, provides an electronic connection to ICU specialists in Sioux Falls and continues to be part of the new ICU. There is also open “shell space” that can be used for future development.

The new ICU includes a large family lounge, complete with a kitchen and bathroom/shower. The reception area is staffed by volunteers who can help with a family's needs during this time.

Our primary concern in the ICU is the well-being of the patient. We ask that you limit visitors to immediate family or closest friends only, and we request that only two visitors be in the room at a time.

When you visit our ICU, you are surrounded by some of the latest technology. Our staff is well trained in the use of the equipment, which might include:

• Heart Monitor: The heart monitor displays the patient’s heart rhythm on a screen at the bedside and is also monitored by teletechs at our monitoring desk, 24 hours a day. This monitor detects changes in heart rate and heart rhythm immediately.
• Oxygen Devices: The most common way for patients to receive oxygen in ICU is by a “prong” that feeds oxygen into their nose, or by a face mask. Sometimes patients need to be placed on a ventilator (or respirator) to help them breathe.
• Intravenous (I.V.) Pumps: It is very important for us to control the rate of I.V. fluids and I.V. medications that our patients receive, and I.V. pumps assist with this.
• Avera eICU Care: This unique, advanced, intensive care monitoring system sends video and data transmission to a remote center in Sioux Falls, staffed by additional ICU physicans and nurses to offer an extra level of patient care.