How long do people stay in the acute care hospital?

Authors: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewer: Arlene Aspinall and Tova Plashkes | Published: 17 February 2017 | Updated: ~

Patients stay in the acute care hospital for as long as they need specialized medical care. When a person is medically stable and able to participate in therapy at a rehabilitation center or from home, they usually leave the acute care hospital.

Every person’s experience is different, and there are many factors that influence the length of stay in the hospital. The characteristics of the injury and a person’s life circumstances can both influence how long they stay in hospital. For example, the level of injury, the extent of other symptoms, or complications like pressure ulcers or pneumonia can all influence the hospital stay.

In Canada, the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry collects and analyzes information from participating hospitals and rehabilitation centers for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. This includes how long individuals stay in their care. The most recent available statistics are from 2016 and show the average length of stay in acute care hospitals in Canada to be 24 days for people with paraplegia and 34 days for people with tetraplegia. However, stays in acute care can range anywhere from a few days to several months