Where do people go after acute care?

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

Once a person is ready to be discharged from the hospital, there are several places that a person may go to continue with their recovery.

Most people recovering from a spinal cord injury will go to a rehabilitation center or special rehabilitation unit of a hospital after acute care. In rehabilitation, they will continue with their recovery and learn the skills and knowledge to function well in their life outside of the health care system.

See our article on Understanding Rehabilitation for more information.

Those individuals who do not require extensive rehabilitation will go home to live in the community. While living at home, rehabilitation services may be given as an outpatient, meaning that they visit a hospital or health facility to receive health services but do not stay there overnight. Supports such as home modifications and home visits from the health team may also be needed before a person can return to their home environment safely.

In other cases, individuals may be discharged to another location such as a long-term care facility, transitional care facility, or an independent living facility in the community.