LTACH'S - Where the Patient Wins!

Article submitted by Andrew Valentine Pool.
For more information, he can be reached at 985-869-0322 or by e-mail: andy@andrewvalentinepool.com.

For years, critically ill patients requiring complex treatment for long periods of time had nowhere to go. They were caught in the never-ending cycle between regular acute care hospitals where they could not stay as long as necessary due to cost, and nursing homes that did not deliver the critical care necessary. In the 1980's, long term acute care hospitals evolved to meet this need. Many were originally developed as tuberculosis hospitals or as settings focusing on ventilator patients.

Today's patients are admitted to LTACHs following treatment in a traditional acute care hospital, but they no longer require intensive diagnostic procedures. The care provided is more individualized and resource-intensive than is provided in a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. LTACHs provide an ideal environment for treating patients with complex medical conditions requiring extended stays in an acute setting.

They can be a "hospital within a hospital" or freestanding. Long Term Acute Care Hospitals partner with traditional hospitals and physicians to treat critically ill patients who require an intensive, acute level care for a longer time period. Services may include comprehensive rehabilitation, respiratory therapy, cancer treatment, head trauma treatment, spinal cord injury treatment, and pain management. The average inpatient length of stay is greater than 25 days.

The partnering mentioned above combined with a superior level of personal care and advanced technology provide an extraordinary environment that focuses on the patients recovering to their maximum level of independence. Usually, there is a high nurse to patient ratio with the emphasis on the patient's recovering well enough to go straight home.

Another side of the coin is that LTACHs provide a comprehensive continuum of care to the patients. In a complex payment system that limits reimbursements under certain conditions, LTACHs are a category that provides favorable treatment for high cost cases. They allow for what is medically appropriate for an individual, not what is mandated by program directives, thus the patient wins!