Role of rehabilitation in highly acute care hospitals

Abstract

Rehabilitation in highly acute care hospitals is an effort to prepare patients for a smooth transition in to recovery-phase hospitals, living-phase hospitals, and clinics. It helps to safely manage critically ill patients to promote their early release from the hospital and transfer of patients for efficient use of medical resources. The rehabilitation department of Showa University Hospital can be considered adequate in terms of promptness; however, there remains a scope for improvement in the number of interventions per patient. Improvement is required to ensure adequate staffing. The remote intensive care unit support center Showa eConnect and various other devices are available for safe and efficient early weaning, and rehabilitation that leads to recovery and living phases is being developed with an eye on post-intensive care syndrome. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a specialized rehabilitation team was formed to provide direct therapeutic intervention while protecting the safety of staff and hospitalized patients. To demonstrate the effectiveness of perioperative rehabilitation, all patients with esophageal cancer were managed right from the time of admission for preoperative chemotherapy, and achieved a shorter hospital stay after surgery through a program that aimed at postoperative recovery and early discharge. Although this program cannot be easily applied to all surgical procedures, it is expected to be highly effective if implemented efficiently in cooperation with multiple departments. Rehabilitation in highly acute care hospitals is constantly changing and evolving. Therefore, going forward, it is expected to expand as an offensive rehabilitation that eventually reaches the area of preventive medicine.