Levels of care exist in a variety of settings and depend on a patient’s necessary quality of care, financial considerations as well as personal and cultural beliefs. In this essay, I will discuss all the levels of care ranging from In-Home Care to Hospital care.
In-Home Care involves taking care of a loved one at home possibly because of financial reasons. An Adult Day Care gives a loved one an opportunity to interact with others their age where staff provides their medication and meals. Assisted Living Facilities provide long-term personal care to individuals that require assistance with two or three activities of daily living (such as grooming or cleaning). Immediate Care or Skilled Nursing Care Facilities are for individuals that require assistance with three or more personal care tasks. Patients that may require immediate care may have problems with vision, communication, memory, bowel/bladder or may require assistance with feeding, bathing, dressing and grooming. Skilled Nursing Facilities are state licensed and provide nursing care under a skilled medical professional 24 hours a day. Patients that may require skilled nursing care may require wound care, catheter care, oxygen therapy, renal dialysis, or chemotherapy. Residential Care Facilities are typically less expensive than assistive living care because they do not have a medical professional on site. Caretakers offer food services and assistance with activities of daily living. Continuing Care Retirement Communities offer several levels of care 1) independent living for residents who do not need personal assistance, 2) assisted living for limited help, 3) short-term and long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation. The benefit of a continuing care retirement community is that individuals have different levels of care that are available to them at all times and do not have to travel for skilled nursing care or rehabilitation.
Hospitals provide inpatient hospitalization and focus on treatment of a disease for a short period of time. Hospital units can be separated into two categories: Intensive Care Unit and Non-Intensive Care Unit. Intensive Care Units provide care for seriously ill patients that require specialized care such as advanced life support or intensive monitoring. Common Intensive Care Units in hospitals include-
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)- provide care for newborn infants
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)- provide care for children
- Coronary Care and Cardiothoracic Unit (CCU/CTU)- provide care for heart attack or heart surgery patients
- Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)- provide care for other surgical patients
- Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)- provide care for patients with medical conditions that do not require surgery
- Long-Term Intensive Care Unit (LTAC ICU)- provide care for prolonged critical care needs patients
Non-Intensive Units provide a lower level of care because the patients’ conditions are not or no longer considered to be life threatening. Common Non-Intensive Care Units include-
- Neonatal units- provide care for ill premature infants
- Women and infant health units- provide care before, during and after childbirth
- Pediatric units- provide care for children younger than 19
- Post-Critical Care (step-down)- provide care for patients that no longer need ICU level care
- Oncology units- provide care for patients with cancer and immune system disorders
- Surgical units- provide care for pre- and post-surgical patients. (May specialize in certain type of surgery)
- Medical units- provide care for conditions such as stroke, heart attack or pneumonia
- Rehabilitation wards- provide care to improve mental or physical function after injury, trauma, or stroke
- Long-term care wards- provide care to patients for an extended period of time
The last level of care is Hospice, which is a service that can be provided In-Home or In-Facility. Hospice provides care for people in the final phase of a terminal illness (a life-expectancy of 6 months or less) with a focus on improving a patient’s quality of life rather than finding a cure. Identifying what quality of care a patient needs in a hospital is crucial because it is important to sort which patients need immediate care and which patients can receive delayed care.
References
Levels of Care. (2019). Retrieved from https://thecaregiverfoundation.org/learn-more/caregiving/how-to-plan-ahead-for-long-term-care/levels-of-care.
Types of Hospital Units. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/IllnessandDisease/HealthcareAssociatedInfections/HAIReports/TypesofHospitalUnits.
