SCCM History

Florence Nightingale wrote about the advantages of establishing a separate area of the hospital for patients recovering from surgery.

Intensive care was initiated in the United States when Dr. Walter E. Dandy opened a three-bed unit for postoperative neurosurgical patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

The first hospital center for premature infant care was established at Sarah Morris Hospital for Children in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Shock wards were established to resuscitate and care for soldiers injured in battle or undergoing surgery.

The nursing shortage that followed the war forced the clustering of postoperative patients in recovery rooms to ensure attentive care. The obvious benefits in improved patient care resulted in the spread of recovery rooms to nearly every hospital by 1960.

The polio epidemic resulted in breakthrough treatment for patients dying of respiratory paralysis. In Denmark, manual ventilation was accomplished, and patients with respiratory paralysis and/or acute circulatory failure were given intensive nursing care.

The development of mechanical ventilation led to the organization of respiratory intensive care units (ICUs) to facilitate effective and efficient delivery of care. General ICUs for very sick patients, including postoperative patients, were developed for similar reasons.

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, then part of Baltimore City Hospitals, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, established the first multidisciplinary ICU in the United States. It was covered by an in-house physician 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and led the way for optimal, constant medical and nursing care to critically ill patients.

Most US hospitals had at least one ICU.

Physicians with a major interest in the care of the critically ill and injured met in Los Angeles, California, to discuss the formation of an organization committed to meeting the needs of critical care patients: the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

SCCM held its first annual meeting in conjunction with the University of Southern California's Annual Shock Symposium.

Critical Care Medicine was launched as SCCM's official journal, with William Shoemaker as editor.

SCCM membership rose to more than 1,000 members.

The American Board of Medical Specialties approved critical care medicine as a subspecialty of internal medicine, anesthesiology, pediatrics and surgery.

SCCM's first specialty section, the Pediatrics Section, was formed.

The SCCM Awards and Grants Program was established to promote excellence in critical care teaching and research.

The American College of Critical Care Medicine was established to recognize and honor practitioners, researchers and educators who demonstrated superior achievement and commitment to critical care.

SCCM membership increased to more than 3,800 members.

SCCM membership responded to Operation Desert Storm by volunteering for critical care medicine teams for possible deployment to the Middle East.

Critical care significantly reduces in-hospital time as well as costs incurred by patients with diseases such as cerebrovascular insufficiency and respiratory failure.

The first five SCCM chapters were approved: New England, New Jersey, Michigan, Southeast, and Carolina/Virginia.

SCCM was given a seat in the American Medical Association House of Delegates.

SCCM published its vision statement and created and registered its Web site, www.sccm.org.

SCCM launched the Fundamental Critical Care Support Provider Course.

More than 5,000 ICUs were operational across the United States.

SCCM moves its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The first issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine was published.

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign was established to reduce mortality from sepsis through awareness, early diagnosis and increased use of appropriate treatment.

SCCM responded to Hurricane Katrina by collaborating with the National Institutes of Health to send volunteers to the affected area.

SCCM launched the iCritical Care podcast.

SCCM began a concentrated effort to expand its international presence.

SCCM expanded its reach by becoming active in social media.

SCCM membership continued to grow, to more than 15,000 members.

An SCCM disaster team was sent to Haiti in response to the magnitude-7.0 earthquake.

LearnICU was launched, promoting SCCM's presence in online learning and content delivery.

The THRIVE initiative was rolled out to help meet the needs of ICU survivors during their weeks to years of recovery.

The SCCM-Weil Research Trust was established to fund research grants in perpetuity and to support the expansion of future critical care research.

The voice of SCCM expanded its reach with a total of 15 specialty sections.