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Are Sub-Acute Facilities Really that Different?

On Behalf of | Oct 3, 2014 | Consumer Rights, Elder Abuse, Law Articles, Nursing home Abuse, Nursing Home Neglect

Sub-acute facilities are a relatively recent trend and are beginning to appear more and more. Why? It is simple: money. Recent reimbursement rates changes from Medicare make it such that a nursing home can get higher reimbursement rates for a resident that needs more specialized care (such as tracheotomy care, intravenous tube feeding and complex wound management).

Sub-acute care as defined by the AHCA, JCAHO, and the Association of Hospital-Based Skilled Nursing Facilities is a comprehensive inpatient care designed for someone who has an acute illness, injury or exacerbation of a disease process. It is goal oriented treatment rendered immediately after, or instead of, acute hospitalization to treat one or more specific active complex medical conditions or to administer one or more technically complex treatments, in the context of a persons’ underlying long-term conditions and overall situation.

Sub-acute facilities are somewhat of a niche for patients who are unable to succeed in independent care or in an RCFE, but are not at the level where their conditions will permanently confine them to a skilled nursing facility. While they often require the same level of care as a SNF, these patients have goals which may improve their quality of life if pursued. However, because many skilled nursing facilities are rebranding or already have rebranded to attract Medicare higher reimbursement rates, the line between skilled nursing facilities and sub-acute facilities is blurring into one. If you are interested in placing a loved one in a sub-acute facility it is important to visit the facility and to make sure that they have the staff and equipment to ensure that your loved one’s goals can be met.

York Law Firm is comprised of Sacramento based lawyers that handle elder abuse and wrongful death cases. If you believe your loved one has been the victim of elder abuse or neglect in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or believe your family has a wrongful death claim, please call our office so that we can investigate your case at 916-643-2200 or contact us online. We are dedicated to representing families whose elders and dependent adults who have been injured, neglected or abused.

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