Acute care is defined as short-term, immediate medical care that is typically for serious illness or traumatic injury. If you or a loved one have received acute care in our hospitals, the care path after discharge can lead in a number of different directions, depending on the patient’s age and the intensity of care you received. Our Post-Acute Care Program helps bridge the gap from acute care in the hospital to the varied levels of care after discharge that include short-term facilities, long-term care, or home.
Under the leadership of medical director Dr. Jacqueline Gettys, our Post-Acute Care Program focuses on recuperation, rehabilitation, and symptom management and improving communication and coordination of care so patients can achieve the best possible outcomes as they transition from the hospital to their next level of care. Dr. Gettys, formerly of Capital Health Primary Care – Ewing, is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine. Although seniors are the most common patient population to be served by the program, our services are available to any patient who receives care at Capital Health.
We start working to address a patient’s post-discharge needs when they are admitted to Capital Health Regional Medical Center or Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell. By providing a complete assessment at this time, post-discharge goals for each patient are set from the start. To gain a better understanding of each patient’s needs, Dr. Gettys attends hospital rounds with the Transitional Care team, working with nurses, hospitalists, therapists, social workers, and case managers—virtually everyone involved in a patient’s care—to develop a personalized post-discharge care plan. Through partnerships with short- and long-term care facilities in the region, Dr. Gettys and her team ensure the best possible services are available for patients as they take the next steps of their health care journey outside of our hospitals.
Capital Health’s Post-Acute Care Program is part of Capital Health Medical Group, a network of more than 500 health care practitioners including primary care and specialty care physicians and surgeons and other providers, dedicated to providing high quality health care carefully coordinated between those involved in your care.
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