Many different types of services are offered by acute-care hospitals. Some of these services must be done on an inpatient setting because of the degree of severity of the illness or treatment. On occasion, the patient may be admitted as an inpatient for observation after a surgery, illness or emergency room visit. Psychiatric services and rehabilitation are also commonly done on an inpatient setting for patients who require more extensive care.
Mental Health
Mental health services are often provided in an inpatient setting. If a person is unable to function in their own home setting because of depression or mental illness or if they are a danger to themselves or others, they can be admitted to an inpatient acute-care psychiatric hospital. These inpatient facilities are trained and equipped to deal with these types of psychiatric emergencies. The patient may be kept for a few days to a few weeks, until the person can be stabilized and medications and therapy can be provided.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation services are commonly provided to people who are not sick enough to remain in the hospital but still require some acute care. The website for the New Hanover Acute Care Rehabilitation Center reports that they provide care for a variety of medical issues. This type of rehabilitation is usually done as an inpatient because the person still requires some form of skilled care such as therapy or wound care. Physicians, nurses and physical, occupational and speech therapists can work together to improve the person's physical abilities and their ability to communicate. Once the person has sufficiently improved to the physicians' and therapy staff's liking, they can return to their home and family.
Surgery
Surgical procedures are commonly performed in an inpatient acute-care facility. According to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, acute-care surgery is a newly developed fellowship offered to physicians that has developed out of a need. Acute-care surgery is often done on traumatic injury patients who have come through an emergency room. However, other acute-care surgeries can be done on an inpatient setting. For example, many cardiac surgeries, such as an ASD repair (a surgical procedure to repair a hole in the upper chambers of the heart), are performed to repair holes in the heart, and this usually requires at least a day in the hospital.
