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Short-Term Rehabilitative Care vs. Long-Term Skilled Care: What Are the Differences?

A senior woman smiles at her nurse.

Experiencing an injury, fall or other issue is hard, but deciding what to do next can present another challenge. Luckily, you have some options you can discuss with your doctor to help facilitate your recovery and get you back on your feet.

After an injury, fall, or other issues, it’s crucial to assess the situation with your physician to determine if short-term rehabilitative or long-term skilled care is needed. Understanding the benefits of the types of care available can help you make an informed decision about your recovery process.

What Is Short-Term Rehabilitative Care?

Short-term rehabilitative care can include any of these types of services:

  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Speech therapy
  • Skilled nursing (if needed on a short-term basis)

The main objective of any short-term rehabilitation program is to improve your body strength and help you get back to everyday life as soon as possible. This type of rehab is targeted to your specific injury, accident, surgery, or illness.

What makes short-term rehabilitative care different from long-term skilled care? Short-term rehabilitative care provides:

  • Defined outcomes
  • Temporary inpatient stay
  • Smooth transitions from hospital to home
  • Home or on-site therapy sessions
  • Resolution in a short time frame

What Is Long-Term Skilled Care?

Long-term skilled care is a type of treatment for individuals suffering from:

  • Chronic disease
  • Chronic illness
  • Debilitating condition or disability

If your condition requires round-the-clock care, you’ll most likely benefit from moving into a skilled nursing facility that can offer you the support you need in the activities associated with daily living.

What makes long-term skilled care different from short-term rehabilitative care? Long-term care provides:

  • Support with activities associated with daily living
  • Treatment of chronic symptoms
  • Inpatient treatments tailored to specific needs
  • Ongoing observation, support and evaluation
  • Treatments and programs geared toward improved quality of life

What Is a Skilled Nursing Facility?

At Signature Pointe in North Dallas, our skilled nursing care team loves what they do and goes the extra mile to help meet each resident’s individual physical and emotional needs. You can count on our highly trained team to support your long-term care or short-term post-acute skilled nursing care.

What makes Signature Point unique? Our skilled nursing residents benefit from:

  • Around-the-clock licensed nursing
  • RN on staff 24/7
  • On-staff physician consultation
  • Registered dietitian for meal planning
  • Licensed social worker for support
  • Pain management services; restorative therapy services
  • Assistance with bathing, grooming, dressing, and toileting
  • Morning bed-making and evening turndown service; meal and activity reminders
  • Towel and bed linen service, personal laundry and daily housekeeping
  • Resident safety checks and 24-hour emergency response call system

We understand every person at Signature Pointe is unique, and so we offer round-the-clock individualized care and support tailored to each skilled nursing resident. We want to ensure residents enjoy the highest quality of life possible in our senior living community.

Learn More About Rehabilitation and Long-Term Skilled Care at Signature Pointe

At Signature Pointe, our goals are your goals. If you require short-term rehabilitation care, we’ll do everything we can to help you get back to the life you love faster. At our Dallas rehabilitation center, you’ll have 24/7 access to individualized care.

Similarly, in long-term skilled care, our residents know staff members are on-site and available 24/7. We’ll work with you to understand your unique needs and help you restore your confidence while also providing the support you need with activities of daily living.

​​If you or your loved one is looking for a skilled nursing facility or short-term rehabilitation near you, contact us today.