Indianapolis, Feb. 21, 2017-- The Critical Care Recovery Center, or CCRC, model developed and tested by the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, the Regenstrief Institute and Eskenazi Health has received the 2017 THRIVE Innovation Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The honor recognizes the nation's first collaborative care concept targeting the extensive cognitive, physical and psychological recovery needs of intensive care unit survivors. 

Created to address problems unique to these ICU survivors, the highly successful CCRC prototype--the Eskenazi Health Critical Care Recovery Center--is an outpatient clinic with an interdisciplinary care team working closely with family caregivers as well as the ICU survivors themselves. ICU survivors are seen in the center after hospital or rehabilitation facility discharge.

Care is provided through a patient and caregiver needs assessment; initial visit (diagnostic testing; history and physical exam; comprehensive cognitive, psychological and physical assessments; and medication reconciliation); and a follow-up family conference (involving patient, caregiver, physician, nurse and social worker) to initiate a personalized care plan which typically covers six to 12 months.

Every year, five million Americans are admitted to medical or surgery ICUs that predispose them to long-term cognitive, functional and psychological impairments collectively known as post-intensive care syndrome.

“The concept for the CCRC arose from the needs of young adult ICU patients who we saw leaving the hospital with functional impairments as well as a spectrum of disorders -- memory, attention, depression, mood and anxiety -- typically not seen in other patients of similar age,” said Dr. Khan, who developed the model and serves as medical director of the Eskenazi Health Critical Care Recovery Center and is an implementation scientist with the IU Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science.

“Implementation science focuses on developing tools, processes and strategies for rapid, efficient and sustainable implementation of evidence-based programs and practices in the real world environments where health care is provided,” said Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, founder of the Center of Health Innovation and Implementation Science. “That’s exactly what Dr. Khan has done with the concept of the critical care recovery center to the benefit of ICU survivors and their families -- reducing post-ICU disease burden and hospital readmissions.” 

The THRIVE Innovation Award recognizes innovation in survivor partnership that addresses the needs of survivors of critical illness, including the family, to optimize recovery through novel paradigms of care delivery, improved coordination of care, and/or the design and implementation of virtual or in-person support groups. The award was accepted by Dr. Khan on behalf of the Critical Care Recovery Center program at the recent Society of Critical Care Medicine 2017 Congress in Honolulu.

“The goal of the Critical Care Recovery Center has been to optimize recovery of an ICU patient, so they can bounce back to their pre-hospital levels of physical, cognitive and psychological functioning,” said Chris Weaver, MD, chief medical officer at Eskenazi Health. “Through the work of Dr. Khan and his team at Eskenazi Health, we have been able to do just that by working with a patient’s primary care physician to ensure that treatment is provided in accordance with the patient’s medical history and needs continue to be met once treatment with CCRC is completed.”

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Media contacts:
Cindy Fox Aisen
Regenstrief Institute
caisen@iupui.edu 
317.843.2275

Todd Harper
Eskenazi Health   
todd.harper@eskenazihealth.edu 
317.880.4785