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No one expects to experience a life-changing injury or illness, and the days and weeks that follow can be overwhelming.
Following treatment in an acute-care hospital, people who have experienced severe or traumatic injury to the brain or spinal cord, a stroke or a major surgery — or who have been diagnosed with a critical or chronic illness — likely will need some form of rehabilitation to regain physical and/or cognitive function.
Patients and families have an important choice to make when deciding where to receive rehabilitation care. Two common options include inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The differences between them are significant — and can affect the extent and speed of recovery.
So, which option is right for you?
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
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Patients may be referred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab if they have a more severe, complex diagnosis and would benefit from — and can tolerate — intensive rehabilitation care. Compared to the care received at a SNF, at an IRF patients will:
- Undergo intensive and comprehensive therapy. For example, a weekly schedule may include an average of 17.5 hours of therapy per week — and several hours most days. Offerings will include at least two forms of therapy — physical, occupational and/or speech-language therapy — and patients often benefit from all three. Additionally, patients may take advantage of specialized services and equipment.
- Work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary care team, which will develop and implement an individual care plan.
A physiatrist, a doctor who specializes in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), will evaluate a patient within 24 hours of arrival and is required to see patients in person three times a week.*
➜ Zooming in on Shirley Ryan AbilityLab: At Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, physiatrists see patients daily to evaluate progress, adjusting treatment when appropriate.
- Therapists (physical, occupational, speech-language), physician’s assistants, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists and other professionals who provide patient care often will have more education, more experience with complex and severe diagnoses, and a higher level of certification than SNF professionals.
As compared with SNFs, the nurse-to-patient ratio is smaller. Registered nurses work onsite to provide care, 24 hours a day.
➜ Zooming in on Shirley Ryan AbilityLab: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab averages one nurse per six patients.
Benefit from onsite diagnostics. Because IRFs are hospitals, they are equipped with a range of diagnostic capabilities.
➜ Zooming in on Shirley Ryan AbilityLab: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab offers expansive diagnostic capabilities, including CT scans, diagnostic swallow studies, dialysis, fluoroscopy, MRI, ultrasound and x-ray, among others.
Skilled Nursing Facilities
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At skilled nursing facilities, patients receive nursing care and may have access to rehabilitation services from licensed physical, occupational or speech therapists. SNFs may be an option for patients continuing to recover from an illness, injury or surgery before transitioning back home — but who may not need or be able to tolerate the intensive therapy that an IRF provides.
SNFs differ from IRFs in the following ways:
- Rehabilitation is not as intensive, and patients participate in fewer therapy sessions compared with an IRF. For example, in a comparison of patients who have experienced a stroke, patients receive an average of 8.9 hours of therapy per week at a SNF** compared with an average of 17.5 hours of therapy at an IRF.***
- A physician is required to evaluate patients within 30 days of their arrival, but is not onsite 24/7.*
- The nurse-to-patient ratio is 1 to 15 on average, and nurses only are required to be available onsite eight hours a day.*
- Onsite diagnostic offerings may be limited or unavailable.
Finding the Best Rehabilitation Environment for You
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Research shows that more therapy — and receiving therapy early after an injury or the diagnosis of an illness — leads to better outcomes. You have a choice in where you receive your care, and it’s possible that an IRF like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab could offer you the best chance for the best recovery.
As the leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions, we welcome patients from around the world at our flagship hospital in Chicago and at alliance hospitals in Chicagoland, Michigan and Minnesota.
Sources:
*Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
**Department of Health and Human Services
***Shirley Ryan AbilityLab internal data
