Abstract
Purpose: To show problems in the rehabilitation system for stroke patients in the suburbs of a metropolitan area, the efficiency and outcomes of rehabilitation were investigated before and after a stroke unit (SU) was opened in our university hospital.
Methods: Seven hundred eighty-eight stroke patients who were admitted to our university hospital from 3/1/2006 to 3/31/2009 with residual disability from stroke were retrospectively analyzed on an annual basis with respect to patient age, hospital stay, FIM scores on admission and discharge, and to where they were discharged, namely, home, convalescent rehabilitation units, or nursing home-type units.
Results: In 2006, right after an SU was opened in our hospital, the hospital stay of stroke patients became markedly shorter than it had been previously. However, the length of stay returned to the prior length, especially for the patients who returned directly home. The rates of transfer within the residential district were 58.7% for convalescent rehabilitation units and 41.8% for nursing home-type units.
Conclusion: A relative lack of convalescent rehabilitation units and nursing home-type units in the metropolitan area increases hospitalization in acute-care hospitals and lowers the cost-effectiveness of SU care. The SU in this area is obliged to provide some post-acute-phase rehabilitation.
