Health Advantage | spring 2007

Rehabilitation Programs: The Difference Between Hospitals and Nursing Homes

Lori Galicki, O.T. (left), and Barb Santora, R.N., take a team approach in helping a patient return to an active lifestyle following surgery.
Rehabilitation hospitals provide specialized medical rehabilitation for persons who have had a significant impairment of function as a result of injury, disease or disabling condition, and/or recovery from surgery or medical treatment. They provide close medical supervision coupled with an intensive rehab program to restore health, function and independence in the home and community. Care is provided in a hospital setting by a team of health professionals that specializes in the medical, social and psychological aspects of rehabilitation.

When compared with less intensive settings, such as skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes, patients in rehabilitation hospitals usually stay for shorter periods of time and have better functional outcomes, but at a higher overall short-term cost. Although inpatient rehabilitation generally does cost more in the short term, a shorter length of stay and a more intense outpatient rehabilitation program usually produce better outcomes, which result in long-term savings.

Rehabilitative services available at nursing facilities are more variable than are those at either inpatient or outpatient hospital-based units. Skilled nursing facilities usually place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation, whereas traditional nursing homes emphasize residential care. In addition, fewer hours of therapy are offered compared to outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation units.

According to Sally Flack, rehab program coordinator at Chelsea Community Hospital, all types of rehab options have a place, and Medicare criteria are established to provide the right type of care to each patient to meet individual needs.

“If you have questions about the appropriate level of care you or your loved one needs, please give us a call,” says Flack. “We will be happy to help you determine what rehab program is appropriate for their needs.”

for more info

For more information on the variety of rehab services available at Chelsea Community Hospital, please call 734-475-4102.

Source: Peter W. Thomas, AAPD Newsletter (www.aapd.com), July, 2005. Adapted with permission of the author.