A specialized section of a hospital containing the equipment, medical and nursing staff, and monitoring devices necessary to provide intensive care. or critical care unit Hospital facility for care of critically ill patients at a more intensive level than is needed by other patients. Staffed by specialized personnel, the intensive care unit contains a complex assortment of monitors and life-support equipment that can sustain life in once-fatal situations, including adult respiratory distress syndrome, kidney failure, multiple organ failure, and sepsis (see septicemia)