A terrible wave of weakness came upon her suddenly. Katie Rimmer, then 23, was downtown at the time, visiting her sister. By the time she drove back to her parents’ Drexel Hill home, she had completely exhausted her strength.

Bedridden through the weekend, Katie was sicker than she had ever been. Her family thought she had the flu. When she grew progressively frail and a red rash appeared on her skin, Linda and Ed Rimmer decided to take their daughter to the emergency room at Lankenau.

“I only vaguely remember my parents taking me to the hospital,” Katie says.

Her mother, however, recalls that morning clearly. “She couldn’t even walk. We realized something serious was going on,” Linda says. “By the time we got to Lankenau, Katie’s organs were beginning to shut down. They started treating her immediately.”

Lawrence L. Livornese, MD, a Lankenau infectious disease specialist, and the Emergency Department staff quickly diagnosed her condition—toxic shock syndrome—an illness so severe that about half of all cases are fatal. “They didn’t know if she would last the night,” Linda recalls.

Katie was admitted to Lankenau’s intensive care unit (ICU). First her kidneys failed, then her lungs collapsed. She was placed in an induced coma to maximize treatment, and for the next 34 days, her life was in the hands of the nurses and physicians in the ICU.

Katie’s illness took a roller-coaster course, with progress being made in one area, while problems developed elsewhere. Through it all, the Rimmers recall the dedicated team of extraordinary nurses and doctors who informed, consulted and supported their family. “They were really concerned for Katie,” her father recalls. “At times, they were as emotional as we were. They were also upfront with us and they kept us informed, and that was very important to our family.”

According to Lee W. Greenspon, MD, Director of Critical Care, a multi-disciplinary approach to care brings a range of expertise to the ICU at Lankenau. Such an approach promotes cohesive care for patients like Katie who experience multiple complications, such as heart, lung and kidney failure. “We have a very dedicated team of physicians prepared to care for patients who are critically ill,” says Dr. Greenspon, a pulmonologist who was one of several physicians involved in Katie Rimmer’s treatment. “We’ve all seen patients in the worst possible condition. We are successful in treating these patients because our specialists, nurses and therapists are very skilled, we work well together, and we respect each others’ expertise.”

Much of this expertise comes from the nursing team. According to ICU Patient Care Manager Mary Lance-Smith, the ICU nurses are extensively and continually educated in caring for critical patients. “We have new nurse graduates and nurses with more than 20 years’ experience,” she says. “Education is ongoing. Our nurses take yearly competency tests and courses in critical care; they are constantly trained in the most advanced treatment options.”

She maintains that the nursing care is key to Lankenau’s reputation for excellence in critical care. “The nurses coordinate all of the other disciplines that go into treatment, including respiratory, dietary, radiology, lab, pharmacy, social work and physical therapy. They constantly monitor patients and identify possible problems before they occur. They are extremely dedicated to providing the very best care and support possible for patients and their families.”

Among physicians, the confidence in the ICU nursing staff is key to patient care, says Scott M. Goldman, MD, Chairman, Department of Surgery. “The excellent results in our ICU reflect the skill of our nurses. We have remarkable nurses who make up our ICU team. This results in better outcomes for patients and better experiences for families like the Rimmers. I’m very proud to be a part of the staff here.”

Maria McKenna, Patient Care Manager, Cardiothoracic ICU, agrees. “Our nurses have a reputation of excellence in providing care and support. Critical patients, as well as their families, need maximum support.”

Katie Rimmer Kirwan, now 30, returned to Lankenau this past June for a more joyful experience: the birth of her and her husband Michael’s first child, Grace Anne. The Rimmers remember the work of the ICU physicians and nurses with gratitude. Says Ed, “We look at it this way: the doctors and nurses at Lankenau saved two people, because we have a granddaughter now.”