Intensive care constitutes a significant portion of the American health care system. The number of intensive care unit (ICUs) in the US is approximately 6000. Every day, 55,000 patients are cared for in these 6000 ICUs. With a declining number of overall acute care hospital beds over the past 20years, the number of intensive care beds has increased by over 250% and now accounts for approximately 10% of all hospital beds. It has been estimated that ICUs account for between 20 and 34% of acute care hospitals in the US; this is double that of other ...