Acute hospital care is care that is provided on a short term basis for injury, illness or disease. The patients are not generally kept for long periods of time. However, they are provided with full care as they would be in a general medical hospital. Also, the acute care hospital can deal with any emergency that may arise while the patient is at the facility for treatment. There are many different types of acute care hospitals that can offer treatment to patients.
Ambulatory Acute Care
An ambulatory acute care hospital is a hospital that provides one day surgeries and treatment to the public. These hospitals are equipped with surgical facilities to provide care to patients coming in for day surgery. They have facilities to treat and monitor patients while they are there but are not equipped for patients needing an extended stay. This is the type of hospital that a person goes to when they need minor surgery such as dental implants, mole removal or removal of cysts.
Long Term Acute Care
A long term acute care facility should not be confused with nursing homes. They are in fact very different. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association, long term acute care hospitals provide care to people that are critically ill and have a multi-system failure. These facilities are often used as a bridge between a hospital stay and a return home. They are often used to further treat patients that need ventilator care and extensive rehabilitation. Long term acute care facilities normally require at least a 25-day stay for rehabilitation purposes. However, very often the patient is there for longer periods of time before being discharged to other care or to their home.
Mental Health
Mental health centers are also considered acute care facilities. Mental health centers provide both outpatient and inpatient services to patients that are considered a danger to themselves or others. Mental health hospitals are equipped to deal with emergencies of the psychological nature instead of a physical nature. They can admit patients for brief periods of time for monitoring and treatment or they can treat patients on an outpatient basis by having them come in periodically for therapy. Mental health centers are very useful hospitals and actually help the community by keeping the emergency room at the local general hospital less crowded with these types of cases. This allows the general hospital to spend their time treating other emergencies caused by illness or trauma.
Source:
New Jersey Hospital Association; About NJHA and NJ Hospitals; 2009;
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