More About
Sub- Acute
Care
Wanga, 2022
Who can recive care?
As said by Wanga (2022, para. 1), subacute clients "need additional help to
manage new or changing health
conditions" or they have previously
received acute treatment but haven't
reached a level to go home because
they still require therapy services
(Wanga, 2022, para. 2).
Condtions that can recieve
care:
Common conditions that are seen in
sub-acute care facilities include ALS,
cancer, eating disorders, spinal cord
injuries, neuromuscular disorders,
intensive wound care, IV treatments, GI
tube issues, major stroke issues, and
congenital anomalies (Wanga, 2022,
para. 7).
Ages that recieve care:
Ages that receive sub-acute care can
range from children to older adults.
How long is care?
Sub-acute care can range from a few
days to a few weeks (Wanga, 2022,
para. 12).
How is it funded?
A large portion of sub-acute care is funded
by Medicare and is paid under PPS.
However, some benefits may be limited and
clients may be charged after a certain
amount of days (The Lewin Group, 1994).
Marie, 2019
Legislation
According to The Lewin Group
(1994), sub-acute care can be
hard to define and create clear
and distinct boundaries. In 1993,
many states created legislation
pertaining to sub-acute care to
better define it in some areas.
Some of the legislation included
laws regarding drug therapy,
head injuries and establishing
required
services,
cognitive
rehab services, and rehab
options (The Lewin Group, 1994).
What is SubAcute Care?
OT Model:
MOHO
Definition
Sub-acute care is for patients who don't
need acute care but whose conditions
are too complex for a nursing facility (The
Lewin Group, 1994). According to The
Lewin Group (1994), there are many ways
to define sub-acute care, "falls between
the acute hospital, medical care, and
long-term rehabilitation care." and "a
hybrid between the hospital and the
nursing facility," These patients typically
require a combination of services
including occupational therapy (OT).
These
therapy
services
are
recommended and prescribed by the
patient's physician (The Lewin Group,
1994). The goal of sub-acute care is to
assist patients with improvement while
reducing overall costs and reducing
readmissions. To be released, the patient
should listen to their physician or
therapist however, they can leave at their
or their caregiver's will (Wanga 2022).
Ontario Society for
Occupational Therapists, n.d.
OTs in SubAcute Care
One model of OT that can be applied to
sub-acute care is the MOHO (Model of
Human Occupation) Model. The MOHO
model focuses on the importance of
occupation and purposeful activities. It
considers that many things can impact
health. OTs use MOHO in practice by
gathering questions and information on
and with the client, using that information
to understand the client's perspective,
creating goals, applying treatments, and
determining the outcome of the therapy
treatment (Schell et al., 2014). This method
is applied to sub-acute care by
understanding the patient's needs and
creating treatments with the patient's
goals in mind so they can transition.
OTs work alongside other health
professionals on interdisciplinary teams
including physicians, physical therapists,
speech therapists, nurses, families, and
the client for the overall benefit of the
client. The settings that include subacute care include rehabilitation units,
skilled nursing facilities, and transitional
care units. OTs have to be licensed and
have the skill to work in sub-acute care.
In these settings, the OT could:
Complete assessments
Create treatment plans
Provide interventions
Richards, 2016
Educate patients and
caregivers (Marie, 2019)
Marie, 2019
References
Marie, S. (2019, January 11). Occupational therapy in skilled nursing facility. Shannen Marie
OT. https://shannenmarieot.com/2019/01/11/ot-in-skilled-nursing-facility/
Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists. (n.d.). Understanding OT. https://otontario.ca/
understanding-ot/working-with-an-ot/
Richards, B. (2016). Rehabilitation and sub acute care [PowerPoint slides]. Docplayer. https://
docplayer.net/5438199-Rehabilitation-and-sub-acute-care-the-discovery-healthexperience.html
Schell, B. A. B., Gillen, G., Scaffa, M. E., & Cohn, E. S. (2014). Willard and spackman’s
occupational therapy (12th ed.). Baltimore, MD. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The Lewin Group. (1994, November 30). Subacute care: Review of the Literature. https://
aspe.hhs.gov/reports/subacute-care-review-literature-0
Wanga, E. O. (2022, March 2). 11 Things to know about subacute care. Experience Care. https://
experience.care/blog/11-things-to-know-about-subacute-care/