Society of Critical Care Medicine

Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM ), established in 1970, is an independently incorporated, international, educational and scientific society, serving its 14,000 members world-wide who are dedicated to providing the highest quality care to all critically ill and injured patients. critical care medicine. The Society carries out this charitable mission through supporting research, providing education, and advocating on issues related to critical care.

History

1927: the first hospital infant care center for premature infants was established at the Sarah Morris Hospital in Chicago. Shock wards were established during World War II to care for inujured soldiers.

1947-1948: the polio epidemic results in a breakthrough in the treatment of patients dying from respiratory paralysis. In Denmark, manual ventilation was accomplished through a tube placed in the trachea of polio patients. Patients with respiratory paralysis and/or suffering from acute circulatory failure required intensive nursing care.

1050s: the development of mechanical ventilation led to the organization of respiratory intensive care units (ICUs) Grouping the patients together provided a more efficient means of caring for critially ill patients of this nature. 1958: Intensive care began in the United States when Dr. W.E. Dandy opens a three-bed unit for postoperative neurosurgical patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. [http://www.hopkinsbayview.org/news/080904icu50.html ]

1968: most United States hospitals reported having had at least one Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

1970: The SCCM is established at meeting of 29 physicians in Los Angeles, California. Max Harry Weil, MD, FCCM becomes the first president of the Society.

1986: the American Board of Medical Specialties approves a certification of special competence in critical care for the four primary boards: anesthesiology, internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery.

1997: more than 5,000 ICUs were operational across the United States.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Society of Critical Care Medicine is to secure the highest quality care for all critically ill and injured patients.

Envisioned Future

The Society of Critical Care Medicine envisions a world in which all critically ill and injured persons receive care from integrated teams of dedicated experts directed by trained and present intensivist physicians. Multiprofessional teams use knowledge, technology and compassion to provide timely, safe, effective and efficient patient-centered care.

Conferences

The Society holds its annual international conference in January or February. There are about 6,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other that care for the critically ill from all over the world in attendance. The Society also holds numerous other conferences, symposia, courses and meetings to advance the practice of critical care.

Periodicals

* Critical Care Medicine [http://www.sccm.org/Publications/Critical_Care_Medicine/Pages/default.aspx]
* Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) [http://www.sccm.org/Publications/Pediatric_Critical_Care_Medicine/Pages/default.aspx]
* Critical Connections [http://www.sccm.org/Publications/Critical_Connections/Pages/default.aspx]

ee also

* [http://www.sccm.org/ Society of Critical Care Medicine]

Partner Organizations

* [http://www.thoracic.org/ American Thoracic Society]
* [http://www.chest.org/ American College of Chest Physicians]
* [http://www.esicm.org/ European Society for Intensive and Critical Care Medicine]
* [http://www.aacn.org/ American Association of Critical-Care Nurses]