How Long Is Short Term Rehab?

If you’ve been told that you may need short term rehabilitation, your first question may have been, “How long is short term rehab?” The most simple answer is that short term rehab can vary between patients and their individual circumstances. Several factors may impact the length of your stay, all of which are designed to best prepare you for life at home after therapy.

Severity of Injury or Illness

Injuries or illnesses that affect a single body part or single extremity typically require a shorter stay in rehab, while injuries or illnesses that affect multiple body parts or systems may require a few additional weeks. Furthermore, when the patient is able to move the body part on command immediately following illness or injury, the length of stay may be shorter. On the same note, if there is no movement initially, it may take additional weeks to reach a level of independence conducive to safety at home.

Type of Injury or Illness

Illnesses like Guillain-Barre Syndrome and stroke can require extensive rehabilitation to achieve full recovery; these services may transition into long-term rehabilitation if results are not achieved in four to twelve weeks. Recovery following an injury or surgical procedure often occurs sooner, and patients can frequently go home between two and eight weeks following their admission to short term rehab.

Achievement of Goals

Upon admission to a short term rehab facility, the patient, their doctor, their family members if desired, their therapists, and their care providers meet to establish goals for occupational rehabilitation. These goals may look something like this:

•         Transfer self from bed to chair and chair to toilet with minimal physical assistance.
•         Don button-up shirt while seated with minimal physical and verbal assistance.
•         Scale and descend 6 stairs safely and with minimal physical assistance.

After establishing goals, the care team goes to work in supporting the achievement of these goals and continues to meet periodically to review progress. In most cases, patients achieve their goals on schedule and are able to go home after a four to twelve week stay.

To find out more about the typical length of a short term rehabilitation stay, visit Santé today!