Partnering to Effectively Manage Your LTACH-Appropriate Patients
“LTAC hospitals differentiate themselves because they have a laser focus on patients who are ventilator dependent, have respiratory failure, require dialysis, and have complex [post] surgical needs, etc. – all of that requires a multi-disciplinary approach [in which] LTAC hospitals specialize.”1
LTACHs Provide Quality, Acute-Level Care
Discharge delays from short-term acute care hospitals (STACHs) can be detrimental for patients, providers and payors. Further, discharging patients who would benefit from daily physician oversight to a lower-level of care, such as a SNF, can lead to costly
readmissions.
In these cases, long-term acute care hospitals can often be the most appropriate care setting for optimal recovery. Here are a few ways LTACHs are different than other post-acute care settings:
- Daily physician oversight
- No 25-day average length of stay (ALOS) requirement
- Licensed as acute care hospitals by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Adherence to STACH nurse staffing ratios, if not better/lower
- Physicians specializing in pulmonology, infections, disease, neurology and more
- Onsite telemetry, diagnostics and lab capabilities
- 24/7 respiratory coverage
- ICU- and CCU-level clinicians
- Care team and plans are customized based on patient needs
- Rehabilitation therapy is included in patient care as soon as is safe and appropriate and may include: RT, PT, OT and SLP

Why Partner With Kindred Hospitals For Your Medically Complex Patients?
We maintain an innovative approach to Managed Care partnerships.
Our partners benefit from:
- Transparency and data sharing through regular touchpoints we call Joint Quality Committee meetings (or JQCs)
- Achieving greater patient access through our over 30 years of clinical expertise and a national footprint of outcomes data. Further, all of our LTACHs are in the process of achieving disease-specific certification from The Joint Commission
in Sepsis and Respiratory Failure.
- Collaborative approach to contracting and renewals focused on high-quality and lower total cost-of-care
- Experience in value-based contracting to drive quality outcomes for patients and partners
Our partnerships are unique based on the product. We currently support:
- Commercial
- Worker’s Compensation
- Veterans Affairs
- Medicare Advantage
- Managed Medicaid