Now that you or your family member have been discharged from the hospital to our center, it is important to explain some of the essential differences between the care received in an acute hospital and that received in a subacute/rehabilitation facility. In an acute hospital, a patient’s acuity (severity of medical problems) is much higher. Therefore, it should be expected that you were more stable medically upon discharge from the hospital than when you entered the hospital, and your physician felt you were well enough to be discharged to our facility.

Subacute means that you may still have multiple medical problems that can be managed at the level of care that we can provide while you begin rehabilitation and work toward discharge and functional goals. It is important to recognize that, unlike in an acute hospital, a physician will not be visiting you daily (a visit called “rounds”) as they did while you were more ill in an acute hospital.

The physician assigned to you at our center is required to see you within 72 hours of admission to complete a history and physical. On average, the doctor may be present in our building 2-3 times per week to admit other residents and tend to certain patients’ needs. With this less-frequent physician presence, it is the nursing staff that becomes the primary link and communication between you and the physician.

Our nursing staff is endlessly communicating with physicians throughout the day, reporting on significant changes in health status and taking physician orders for medication changes or ordering of labs/tests. The physician may direct our nurses to send a patient back to the hospital if poor health warrants such a decision. We hope such setbacks do not occur and you can begin to work towards your goals. However, we recognize that one’s health status can be unpredictable, and our qualified and caring staff is available to meet your