'Behind the Blue': Ashley Montgomery-Yates on UK HealthCare’s role in critical care
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 1, 2024) — Four years ago, the world at large became more familiar with the field of health care known as “critical care” when the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented numbers of patients being admitted to hospital intensive care units.
Ashley Montgomery-Yates, M.D., a critical care physician and senior vice chair of strategy for the University of Kentucky Department of Internal Medicine, was one of the many health care providers on the front lines of the pandemic.
On this episode of “Behind the Blue,” Dr. Montgomery-Yates discusses what it means to go into the field of critical care, what life was like for the ICU teams during the pandemic, and how staff experiences helped shape the design of UK Chandler Hospital’s recently opened 12th floor – the new home of its medical and cardiovascular ICUs.
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Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.
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UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.