What is a rehabilitation hospital?
A medical rehabilitation hospital, also known as an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF), is a type of specialty hospital that focuses on treating people recovering from debilitating injuries, illnesses, surgeries, and chronic medical conditions. Patients at rehabilitation hospitals like Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital have complex therapy needs, but also require hospital-level medical services such as 24-hour rehab nursing care and daily physician management.
Rehabilitation hospitals are considered post-acute care providers, meaning they typically treat patients who require additional care after first being treated in a traditional hospital. However, in some cases our patients are admitted from another setting or even directly from their homes.
Personalized, focused care to get you back to your best.
Each patient’s individual challenges and recovery goals are what drive their treatment at a rehabilitation hospital. Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital has teams of medical professionals, known as interdisciplinary teams, which work closely with patients and their family members to develop comprehensive, custom treatment plans. Our goal is to get to know each individual we serve on a personal level in order to help them achieve their highest possible level of function and independence.
Our team members provide care under the direction of a physician who is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as a physiatrist. Other members of the care team may include rehab nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, case managers, respiratory therapists, physician specialists, psychologists/psychiatrists, and dieticians.
In comparison to skilled nursing facilities and home-based rehabilitation services, rehabilitation hospitals provide more rigorous therapy services. Patients treated at a rehabilitation hospital can typically expect to participate in three hours of therapy services per day, at least five days per week.
Learn more about the differences between rehab hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.
