Is an intensive care unit (ICU) different from a hospital's emergency room?

Yes, the ICU is different then the emergency room. The emergency room is an area of the hospital where patients are brought first when they have had some type of accident or emergency. (For example a car accident or a heart attack). Patients are evaluated and cared for in the emergency room. Depending on how sick the patients are the emergency room doctor may send them to another area of the hospital called the ICU. The ICU is called the intensive care unit. Patients who are very sick and need specialized care are placed in the ICU. Nurses in the ICU have special training to take care of patients who are very sick.

Intensive care and emergency room are two different areas of a hospital. The emergency room of a hospital is where ambulances bring people who are critical. It is also the area where patient's go when they need immediate care and cannot wait for an appointment with a physician. Some people who go to the emergency room will be treated and discharged while others will be admitted to the hospital for further care. The intensive care unit is where critically ill patients go until they are stabilized. Intensive care units receive their patients from surgery, the emergency room, as well as other areas of the hospital.