inpatient_vs_nursing

Going to an inpatient rehab setting after stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), or traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have a significant effect on a patient’s outcome. A campaign launched by Mechanicsburg, Pa-based Select Medical aims to help consumers understand the implications of choosing inpatient rehab versus a nursing home.

The campaign, titled “The Right Choice. The Right Setting. The Right Outcome,” aims to help healthcare consumers—especially those who hold a stake in the recovery of a person affected by brain injury or SCI—see the bigger picture of how their choice of care facility may affect long-term quality of life.

A media release from Select Medical cites a study commissioned by the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association that states individuals who are admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital after stroke, brain injury, or SCI return to home more quickly than those who receive care at a nursing home.

Furthermore, the release states, members of that same patient population can expect to live longer and experience a better quality of life when they receive care at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

“We want consumers to know that if they or a loved one ever have stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other neurological conditions, where they go to receive medical care and rehabilitation — and how quickly they begin their treatment — makes all the difference in the quality of their recovery,” says Bruce M. Gans, MD, Select Medical’s national medical director for rehabilitation.

Gans adds that for many individuals, an optimum outcome means going to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital rather than a nursing home. “That is because inpatient rehabilitation hospitals specialize in rehabilitation and have the training and experience in successfully treating even the most complex medical conditions,” Gans says.

Select Medical is a provider of specialized acute and postacute care that reportedly operates or supports more than 100 hospitals that specialize in long-term acute care. Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, ranked by US News and World Report as the nation’s number two rehab hospital, is part of the Select Medical network.

More information about the campaign is available online at www.therightchoiceforrehab.com.

[Sourece: Select Medical]