What Is a Long-Term Chronic Care Hospital?

Many people are familiar with nursing homes and communities that offer independent or assisted living. However, sometimes, you or your loved one needs more care than those settings can provide. In those cases, there’s another option you may not have heard of that may be a better fit: long-term chronic care.

A long-term chronic care hospital provides hospital-level, ongoing medical care for older adults with chronic and complex health needs. At Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at NewBridge on the Charles, we combine person-centered extended medical care, therapeutic services, and supportive programming in a setting designed to promote comfort, dignity, and quality of life.

How is long-term chronic care different from a nursing home?

Long-term chronic care provides a higher level of medical care than a traditional nursing home. While nursing homes often focus on custodial care and support with activities of daily living, licensed long-term chronic care hospitals provide comprehensive medical oversight, coordinated clinical services, and specialized therapeutic programs for older adults with chronic and complex conditions.

Here are a few of the ways that long-term chronic care differs from traditional nursing homes: 

What care is available at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center? 

Hebrew Rehabilitation Center’s license as a long-term chronic care hospital allows us to provide person-centered, ongoing medical care and specialized therapeutic programs not typically found in traditional nursing homes.

Here are some of the supports and services available to patients at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center:  

• Geriatric specialists, who are experts in the care of seniors, provide 24/7 medical care. They are on-site staff, not contractors. Many have academic appointments at Harvard Medical School. 
• Small households help maximize patients’ independence with assistance from an interdisciplinary team. Staff ensure that all patients feel at home, respected, and cared for.
• Specialized therapists provide a wide range of rehabilitative therapies, including physical, occupational, speech-language, and expressive therapies. Each patient is evaluated on admission and receives a personalized care plan with individualized goals.
• Our palliative care team includes physicians, social workers, nurses, and spiritual care providers who focus on pain relief,  symptom management, emotional support, and communication with patients and families about goals of care.
• Our life enhancement team offers patients a wide range of activities to optimize quality of life and provide opportunities for continued personal growth.
• Rabbis and chaplains attend to the spiritual and religious needs of patients.
• Our culinary team, including registered dieticians, offers personalized nutrition services for older adults with a variety of health conditions.
• A pharmacy and specialty care — including podiatry and radiology — are all available on-site.

Ready to explore long-term chronic care? Contact Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at 617-363-8000 for more information.