LTACH...What is it?

I work in the medical setting of a Long Term Acute Care Hospital hence, LTACH. In this type of setting we are able to handle acute patient requiring: mechanical ventilation, complex wound care, long term IV antibiotics, telemetry, dialysis, multiple therapies and critical care. We are able to perform some simple surgical procedures and we have a low level ER.

Most of our patients are here for 25 or more days and some are "frequent flyers". Their medical information, in a paper based setting, can become enormous. I've encountered patients that have a whole row(s) of shelving all to themselves.

I enjoy working in this setting because I get to do some of everything. I code, participate on committees, interact with physicians and other medical staff in addition to my management duties. I also enjoy the size of this type of facility. Some LTACHs have 20-80 beds and might be a part of a larger corporate structure, such as Kindred, Lifecare and Select Specialty hospitals.

In an LTACH setting the HIM department tends to be small and maintained by less than 5 people, depending on the bed size of the hospital. You truly get to be a jack of all trades in the HIM world when you would in an LTACH.

I've really enjoyed my LTACH experience and I've been in this type of setting for 6 years and I actually prefer it. Don't forget to check into the different type of settings when you are exploring your options.