Personal Injury Law

Survival Rate Low in Long-Term Care Hospitals

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Business Week reports on a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found that admissions to long-term acute care hospitals are on the rise. However, 50% of patients admitted to these facilities do not live for more than a year. The American Hospital Association defines a long-term acute care hospital as a facility that provides long-term medical and rehabilitative care to those with acute or chronic illnesses. Often, these people are too sick for nursing homes, yet not benefitting from traditional hospital care. From 1997-2006, the number of acute care hospitals doubled and with this increase the number of Medicare patients admitted tripled. These increases are due, in part, to the population aging and also to new advances in care that keep patients alive for longer periods of time. However, outcomes for these patients are still poor and therefore new approaches are still needed to combat the high rate of death among these patients.

As the number of long-term care hospitals increase, so does the incidence of medical malpractice in these facilities. Due to their limited mobility, many patients develop pressure sores, and infection is also an issue. Several months ago, the New York Times drew attention to the fact that these hospitals face little scrutiny in spite of many violations. The article found that many of these hospitals do not have full-time doctors on staff and on nights and weekends must call outside physicians in an emergency. As a result, many of these facilities are faced with lawsuits aimed at compensating victims and correcting the system.

The Acute Long-Term Care Hospital Organization website lists ten long-term care hospitals in Illinois.

-Greater Peoria Specialty Hospital
-Kindred Hospital - Chicago ? Lakeshore
-Kindred Hospital - Chicago - North Campus
-Kindred Hospital - Chicago ? Northlake
-Kindred Hospital - Chicago Central
-Kindred Hospital ? Sycamore
-Advocate Bethany Hospital
-Holy Family Medical Center
-Marianjoy Rehab Hospital
-RML Specialty Hospital

To learn more about the most recent study on long-term care hospitals, follow the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on June 11, 2010 (boomark / email).