Endorsements

-Critical Conditions was recently named the best "How-To" book for 2008 at the prestigious DIY Book Festival.
"As a Psychologist who teaches college courses to nurses, I have to say this is one of the most valuable books I have come across. “Critical Conditions” by Martine Ehrenclou is a book that I put on my must-read list for my nursing students. I appreciate the long hours and time the author put in to help the general population. Even as a professional, I felt she taught me things I had not even thought of."
- Readers Views

“Highly recommended! No stone has been left unturned as the author intensely interviewed, and researched this easy to follow book. Few will escape being affected by a hospital stay. Be prepared and believe in the value of this book. This guide is not only essential for the patient, but perhaps a refresher for the overworked medical profession, business people and politicians.”
- AllBooks Review

“A step-by-step guide filled with excellent advice that can prevent the kinds of accidents and problems that can complicate or even endanger a hospital stay.”
- Bookviews, Pick of the Month

"Critical Conditions" is a must for anyone who wants to be a boon to someone they care for instead of a bane. An especially appropriate addition to personal and community library Health/Medicine reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
- Midwest Book Review, November 7, 2008


To Your Health!
No one wants to go to the hospital or have a loved one require care, but it is a common enough experience. Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive ($19.95, Lemon Grove Press, Santa Monica, CA, softcover) by Martine Ehrenclou is filled with excellent advice that can prevent the kinds of accidents and problems that can complicate or even endanger a stay. It is a step-by-step guide based on more than 150 interviews with nurses, doctors, social workers, and families. Briefly stated, family and friends need to take an active role in every aspect of a patient’s care. It’s not commonly known, but hospital care can be hazardous to a patient’s health. It is estimated that a quarter million deaths in hospitals were preventable!
- Bookviews by Alan Caruba, November 2008, My Picks of the Month, http://www.bookviews.com/

"In one way or another, few will escape being affected by a hospital stay.  Be prepared and believe in the value of this book.  I am unable to give her work enough praise and with highest regards, highly recommend this book to everyone." 
- Cheryl Ellis, Allbooks Review

“Hospital care is becoming hazardous to the patient’s health. Wise words from medical personnel pepper the pages of Critical Conditions…based on more than 150 interviews with nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff, and the author’s own experiences.”
- Publishers Weekly

“An important book for family members of anyone who is in the hospital, or who is seriously ill. The author distills the information she gained from interviews into calming, practical advice. …important for educating readers on health issues when doctors aren’t always affordable, or reliable.”
- ForeWord Magazine

“A lot of useful advice which could truly make a difference. The author has left no stone unturned to ensure that proper hospital care is received…with step-by-step information and tips in dealing with all aspects of a hospital stay. The book will be beneficial to anyone who has a loved one in the hospital and also to students in nursing or medical school.”
- Rebeccas Reads

"At any time, though, something could occur that would send me to the ICU or even a heart unit. I would then want my daughters to go to my bookcase and bring Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive with them on their initial visit. Keeping this book handy can keep your loved one from becoming a statistic."
- Bookloons

“Full of pragmatic advice in short, specific sub-sections. It’s worth a look -- for business readers, consumers, hospital managers, politicians...”
- San Francisco Business Times

“An essential tool for anyone with a loved one in the hospital…a simple step-by-step way of averting seemingly avoidable errors. This book acts as a handbook, diary of patient progress, procedural manual, and a reminder for the reader.”
- BlackGospel.com

"The book essentially contains step-by-step information and tips in dealing with all aspects of a hospital stay in order to ensure that your loved one receives the best care possible. The most important point that I got from reading the book was to make sure that there is someone staying with the patient at all times in order to look out for the patient and to help prevent medical errors. Ehrenclou’s handbook details all of the steps that you need to take and the details that you need to write down when talking to the nurses and doctors. Also included is information of how to prevent medical errors, prevent infectious diseases, prevent fatal falls, how to get past language barriers, what to do if you live out of town, and other pertinent issues.

You can tell that the author is very passionate about the topic at hand and she has left no stone unturned in her presentation of the steps one needs to take to ensure that proper care is received.

I think that this book will be beneficial to anyone who has a loved one in the hospital and also to students in nursing school or medical school. There is a lot of useful advice in the book, some of which could truly make a difference, especially to the hospital novice."
- Kam Aures, for Rebeccas Reads September 2008

"The book's title is provocative, but the warning is similar to one given for years by health-care quality experts. It's worth a look - for business readers, consumers, hospital managers, maybe even a politician or two."
- Chris Rauber, San Francisco Business Times September 15, 2008

"Martine has accomplished what scores of nurses have talked about for years. She has collected crucial helpful hints and organized them together in an easy to understand format, for family members who have a loved one in the hospital. When lay people enter this 'foreign country' of hospitals and rehab facilities, the language, practices, strange sounds and equipment are often intimidating. This book is their survival guide. Martine's mantra: 'to support the best possible medical care for your loved one,' is really what every member of the health care team is striving for. Many instances of a breakdown in communication or trust between the health care team and the patient or family can be avoided by using this tool. Before I finished reading it, I had made a list of friends who need a copy. This book belongs in the gift shop of every hospital."
- Jackie Koob, RN, BSN, Stanton, CA

"They should pass out this book to all families who have loved ones in hospitals."
- Robert Adair, MD, Santa Monica, CA

"Critical Conditions is a most comprehensive guide book for the individual who has a loved one in the hospital. It provides the do's and don'ts for the family. "Ms. Ehrenclou is to be complimented on having written a practical and informative book."
- Howard S. Traisman, MD, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine and Emeritus Attending Endocrinologist, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

"Health care is exceedingly complex and the entire industry is undergoing a significant transition of learning how to further improve the processes of care so that patients are consistently receiving safer and higher quality care in all settings. This type of transition takes time, however, so patients and their families must take the important steps of learning how to ensure optimal care for themselves by collaborating with the professionals who are providing their care. This book is well-written and organized with an intuitive layout such that patients and their families will benefit from its use for a single short-term hospital stay - as well as for long-term multiple hospital stays. A great patient and family resource."
- Peter B. Angood MD, FRCS, FACS, FCCM Vice-President & Chief Patient Safety Officer The Joint Commission Chicago, IL

"Critical Conditions provides the 411 on a 911 situation. This book is a practical resource that teaches HOW and WHY to be a champion, an observer, a voice for our hospitalized loved ones; a personal reference that feels like an experienced friend; AND a step-by-step roadmap that guides readers from Admitting, past the confusion of hospitalization, through the fears, along the path of safe and efficient care, and finally to Discharge. Readers will learn how collaborative communication between physicians, nurses, hospital staff, and family members and their loved ones can only enhance the quality, experience, and outcome for our most vulnerable health care recipients. Critical Conditions will be equally appropriate for the medical school or college classroom, in a suitcase bound for the hospital, at the admitting office or emergency room, on a bed stand, and in the hands of every patient advocate."
- Lucy Hu Bruttomesso, MD, Los Angeles, CA

"As an RN who has also had critically ill loved ones in the hospital, I feel that this book is an important and empowering tool. It covers the process from beginning to end and enables the reader to navigate the system while still being supportive of the healthcare community."
- Leslie Platt, RN, Lakewood, CA

"You are the best advocate for your loved one. This book will help guide you through the ins and outs of the hospital system. It gives great guidance on how to be an advocate. The most important thing when you are in the hospital is to have someone be your voice."
- Sheila Heller, RN, BSN, Arlington, VA

"This book offers invaluable information on the intricacies of hospitalizations. It is written for the public as well as being a refresher for the medical professional, now on the 'other side of the bed.' When someone you love is hospitalized, you will have another full-time job. This book will make that job easier."
- Phyllis Setlen, RN, Baltimore, MD

"This is a guide or handbook for persons with loved ones in the hospital. It describes, in encyclopedic fashion, how to cope with this foreign medical and technological world. Hospitalization is confusing for the patient, and they may be unaware or unable to function for themselves because of their illness or injury. Now enter the advocate, e.g., the spouse, relative, friend, etc., who also may be confused. However, this book provides a valuable step-by-step guide for maneuvering and negotiating the treacherous maze of hospitalization. It is not everything for everyone, but it does have something for everyone who has a loved one in the hospital. Its comprehensive coverage of topics provides valuable instruction and advice presented in easy to understand lay terms."
- Perry A. Henderson, MD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI

"I wish I'd had your book when my mom was in the hospital. Maybe it would have helped save her life."
- B. Marcus, family member, Los Angeles, CA

"This book will be a useful tool for understanding and keeping track of vital information throughout the hospitalization. It will prove especially helpful to those navigating this experience for the first time."
- Amy Eden, RN, BSN, LNC, CA

"This book exceeds my expectations. I wish I'd had it for myself and my family years ago. Critical Conditions will be in hand if any of us are hospitalized. This book is number one for our family and friends."
- Mia Vloet, RN, Newport Beach, CA

"Critical Conditions is a great tool for navigating the hospital system. It provides simple and helpful steps that family members and patients themselves can follow."
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