The Intensive Care Unit is a designated area of St. Mary's Hospital that consists of 7 ICU and 4 CCU beds with attached monitoring equipment and adequate space where a highly skilled team of physicians and nurses, in cooperation with other health care professionals, can provide the highest quality care to critically ill patients.

The Critical Care areas are guided by the philosophy that most critically ill patients can be supported through their period of crisis by a thorough and well organized management plan, frequent reassessments, continuous monitoring, intensive nursing care and prompt responses to changes in the patient's status.

This requires a team of dedicated physicians and nurses specifically trained in all aspects of resuscitation and critical care. This includes a broad knowledge of the spectrum of illnesses, their acute manifestation, the physiology underlying their decompensation as well as the supportive management principles required to stabilize the patient and restore his independent functioning. An environment conductive to teaching and research is necessary for maintaining and improving these skills.