HEALTH JOURNALISM

RISE: EARLY MOBILITY IN THE ICU

In the intensive care unit, life support and mechanical ventilation can suggest a world of stillness. At Hartford Hospital’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit, RISE reveals another possibility: critically ill patients being helped to stand, take steps, and begin reclaiming their independence. Through the determination of patients and the coordinated efforts of nurses, physicians, and rehabilitation specialists, this documentary explores what it takes to bring movement into one of medicine’s most demanding environments.

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THE STORY

Movement Changes Everything

In an intensive care unit, patients supported by ventilators and life-saving equipment are often associated with immobility. RISE enters Hartford Hospital’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit, where clinicians work together to help patients move, stand, and walk even during critical illness.

Published on Medscape in April 2025, the documentary follows the determination of patients and the dedicated care teams who make those first steps possible. It is an intimate portrait of recovery, collaboration, and the human spirit inside the ICU.

WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY