After a patient leaves the hospital, they may need additional care to help with recovery from a chronic illness, or to help manage a disability.  This type of continued medical care is known as post-acute care and varies based on the needs of the patient.

Types of post-acute care

Below are some of the different types of facilities a patient may go to, or care they may need:

  • Home Health
    • Provides health care services, so a person can live independently in their home after an injury, or illness.
  • End Stage Renal Disease Facility, or dialysis center
    • Needed for people that have lost their kidney function and require long-term dialysis to maintain life.
  • Hospice Care
    • Provides end of life care for patients to make them comfortable and help control their pain.
  • Assisted Living
    • Long term care services option that provides housing, personal care services, health care and daily assistance to help maintain a certain amount of independence for the person.
  • Memory Care
    • A specialized type of long-term care designed to care for people with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other types of memory problems.
  • Skilled Nursing Facility Care (Nursing homes)
    • Used for patients after a stroke, or joint replacement and are not ready to go home yet.  Also, it may be helpful for patients that are not ready to go home, because they need to regain their strength and/or need to have their chronic health problems monitored.
  • Long-term Acute Care Facilities
    • A specialty hospital that provides more intensive care than a skilled nursing facility and where the patient normally stays 20 to 30 days.
  • Palliative Care
    • The focus is to keep the person comfortable and provide appropriate medications.
  • Rehabilitative Care
    • Occupational Therapy
    • Physical Therapy
    • Audiologic (Hearing) Rehabilitation
    • Speech, Voice and Swallowing Rehabilitation
    • Respiratory Therapy
    • Cognitive Rehabilitation
    • Vocational Rehabilitation

In order to determine the best post-acute care for the patient, the healthcare team in the hospital will determine the proper care plan that best fits their healthcare needs.

 

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