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SMH critical care services ICUIntensive Care Unit

The multidisciplinary Critical Care Services team at Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure the best outcomes for patients, and to support the families and loved ones of our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Our highly trained physicians, nurses, therapists and other healthcare professionals specialize in treating life-threatening medical, surgical or cardiac conditions.

The SMH-Venice ICU features 22 private patient suites, all of which are designed to use negative pressure, if needed (in a pandemic, for example).

Visiting the ICU

Having a loved one in the hospital, especially in a critical care setting, can be a stressful experience. We believe in family-centered care and want to involve you in the care and comfort of your family member; we will make every attempt to meet your needs. At times, however, we may ask you to stay in the waiting room for a short time while we are attending to patient needs. 

Visiting hours are:
9 am - 7 pm
8 - 9 pm

Before visiting a loved one in the ICU, you must check in at the first-floor Public Safety screening station in the main lobby. Your provided visitor badge is good for one calendar day. We request no visitors or phone calls to the unit during shift changes (7 - 8 am and 7 - 8 pm), when the clinical team is sharing important assessments and reports.

Patient Safety

For the health and security of our patients, the Critical Care Unit is locked 24/7 and all visitors are screened.

To provide the best patient care, we follow these guidelines on the unit:

  • No live plants or flowers are permitted.
  • Visitors must wash hands upon entering and leaving. Hand-washing foam canisters are mounted outside each unit and patient room.
  • Only two visitors at a time are permitted in each patient room.