Introduction
Korrane in the article “The Role of the Long-Term Acute Care Hospital” discusses the complexity that defines long-term health care where patients present themselves with a wide range of system failures, organ transplant complications, trauma brain injuries, acquired brain injuries and complex wounds. These failures do not just require a need to be treated to facilitate normal physiologic functioning but also hold a significant concern for the patient’s survival. Korrane notes that the most challenging aspect is to monitor a host of dysfunctions of the vital body organs and implement the most reliable techniques to help the patient regain a normal life.
As such, care for these patients involves inpatient dialysis and weaning form a ventilator to help the continued functioning of vital body organs. As such, the nurse is required to be at the bedside to offer and regularly review the care services in relation to the changing demands of the patient’s condition. However, the Korrane indicates that the major initiative to achieve the bets outcomes is to ensure a collaborative network of communication between the nurses, the specialists and the subspecialist. This coordination helps gain a better understanding of the patient overall response to the care provided and with time, helping the care team to identify the primary causes of the illnesses. The ability to identify the primary causes helps the care team to offer a more individualized care plan. This will help reduce the hospitalization stay and thus develop a plan that will gradually aid the patient to achieve physiologic independence for the vital functionalities.
Unlike other patient categories, the critically ill present special clinical needs. The healthcare system has identified gaps within the type of care that this class of patients has historically received. This has led to the establishment of various Long-term acute care hospitals across the country as an evidence-based approach. The type of care that the critically ill require is pretty complex and cannot be rendered by usual healthcare facilities. According to the article, “The Role of Long-term Acute Care Hospital (2011)”, a critically ill patient may regain his/her stable health condition that warrants his/her discharge from the acute hospital. However, discharging this group of patients should be accompanied by a thorough analysis of his/her conditions and subsequently, the post-acute care needs of the patient.
There has been a traditional norm whereby after the acute care the critically ill are referred to a home care facilities or skilled nursing facility. This intervention has been rendered futile in terms of securing the health of the critically going into the future. This is occasioned by the need for a whole-day observation and assessment of patient conditions. Constant watch or regular visits are a crucial phenomenon of care that the critically-ill lack when placed in home care facilities or skilled nursing facilities.
Conclusion
Therefore, this article elucidates the effectiveness and benefits of Long-term acute care hospitals when addressing the healthcare needs of post-acute care patients. One of the benefits that accrue to this approach is that it guarantees constant visits by the care provider-an integral aspect of prognosis and dealing with post-treatment complexities (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2013). Critically ill patients who have just been discharged from the acute care unit present a myriad of health complications that require a multi-disciplinary approach. For instance, this category of patients presents various mental conditions such as trauma and dietary disorders. To fully address all these needs, it requires a holistic approach (Kahn, 2010). As a result, one of the benefits of LTACHs is that they incorporate the services of different healthcare professionals who collaboratively address the needs of every patient.
References
Kahn, J. M. (2010). The evolving role of dedicated weaning facilities in critical care. Intensive care medicine, 36(1), 8-10.
Korrane, R. (2011). The Role of the Long-Term Acute Care Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/Past-Issues/Past-Issues-2011/September-2011/The-Role-of-the-Long-Term-Acute-Care-Hospital
LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (Eds.). (2013). Nursing research: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
