To choose a long-term acute care hospital, start with the list from the hospital case manager and check each option’s quality data on Medicare Care Compare. This guide from RML Specialty Hospital walks through each step.
Most families are unaware LTCHs exist and are not sure where to start looking for information. A Social Worker or Care Manager lets you know it is time for your loved one to dischargeA loved one is from the intensive care unit but still needs hospital care, asks where the patient should go next. Searching “LTCH” or “long term acute care hospital” returns names and addresses, but not the details that help you compare them.
What is a long-term acute care hospital?
A long-term acute care hospital (LTAH or LTAC) is licensed as an acute care hospital for patients who still need time to recover from a serious illness, injury or intensive care stay. Patients no longer need intensive care, but they still need daily care from a physician, close medical monitoring and coordinated treatment.
Medicare calls these facilities long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). Federal law defines them as hospitals with an average inpatient stay of more than 25 days.
According to Medicare, long-term care hospitals serve critically ill and medically complex patients who need extended hospital care, often with more than one serious medical condition. Most patients are transferred from an intensive or critical care unit. Learn more about what long-term acute care is and when it is used.
How do you find an LTAC near me?
Three sources give you a short list you can compare.
- Your hospital social worker or discharge planner. They make the referral and can tell you which long-term acute care hospitals they work with. Ask for every option, not only the first one offered.
- Medicare Care Compare. Medicare’s free Care Compare tool lets you search for Medicare-certified long-term care hospitals by ZIP code, city or state and review the quality data each one reports to Medicare. CMS typically refreshes this data every quarter.
We tell families the distance should not be a part of your decision. It’s the quality of care, experience and quality outcomes they should look at . Also mention the importance of touring the facility before making a decWhat should you look for in a long-term acute care hospital?
Compare each hospital on the same six points.
- Physician coverage: Ask whether physicians are on site 24 hours a day. Telehealth is not the same as on-site medical care. Experience with the condition: A patient coming off a ventilator, healing from a complex wound or recovering after a transplant needs a team with experience to manage those conditions often.
- Reported quality data: CMS publicly reports measures such as hospital acquired infection, ventilator liberation rate, readmission rate after discharge and hospital-acquired infections.
- Room type: A private room gives a patient privacy and rest during a long stay.
- Family communication: Find out who updates the family, how often, and how to reach the care team.
- Insurance: Confirm that the hospital accepts the patient’s coverage before the transfer.
What questions should you ask an LTAC facility?
Use these questions on a call or a visit. Most of them also work as questions to ask a rehab facility, so one list covers both.
| Question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Are physicians on site 24 hours a day? | A patient's condition can change at any hour, and an on-site physician can respond right away. Telehealth is not the same as on-site care. |
| How often do you treat patients with my loved one's condition? | Expertise with ventilator weaning complex wounds and transplant shapes the care plan. |
| What do your Medicare Care Compare results show? | Reported measures let you compare hospitals on the same basis. |
| Will my loved one have a private room? | A private room supports rest and privacy during your stay. |
| Which therapists will be part of the care team? | Respiratory, physical, occupational and speech therapy are a part of recovery. |
| Who will update our family, and how often? | Regular updates from physicians, nursing and Care Coordinators help families plan and make decisions. |
| Do you accept my loved one's insurance, and what will we owe? | Coverage should be confirmed before the transfer. |
| How do you plan the next step after discharge? | The next setting may be acute rehabilitation, home or skilled nursing. |
| What are the visiting hours, and is parking available? | Flexibility in visiting is important. Regular visits are easier when the practical details are clear. |
Is a long-term acute care hospital the same as a rehab facility?
No. A long-term acute care hospital that focuses on medical issues treats patients who still need daily physician care, such as ventilator support or medically complex,complex wound treatment. An inpatient rehabilitation facility offers an intensive therapy program, with a physician overseeing care, for patients who need intensive rehab.
Some patients move from a long-term acute care hospital to rehab as they get stronger. If you are also researching how to choose a rehab facility, the questions above apply to both settings. For a side-by-side view, see our guide to LTACH vs. SNF vs. rehab.
How does admission to a long-term acute care hospital work?
Admission starts with a referral from the patient’s current hospital. YOur social worker or care manager will let you know At RML, LTAH admissions for families follow four steps.
- Referral or call. Your care manager or social worker will send a referral. Families can also call RML’s Intake team directly. 630.286.4100
- Clinical review. An RML nurse clinical liaison reviews the medical chart to determine whether long-term acute care is appropriate. Clinical Liaison will reach out to the family with the outcome of the clinical review and address family questions and concerns.
- Insurance verification. Coverage is confirmed before admission, and families are told what it covers.
- Transfer coordination. The liaison works with the discharge planner to arrange the transfer when the patient is ready for discharge and the family has chosen RML.
Medicare Part A covers care in a long-term care hospital. The questions below set out what a patient pays in 2026, and RML’s Medicare and insurance coverage page explains billing and financial assistance.
Where RML fits
RML Specialty Hospital is the only not-for-profit long-term acute care hospital in Illinois with campuses in Chicago and Hinsdale, Illinois. Founded in 1987, by three area non-for profit hospitals RML cares for adults with medically complex conditions.
In a 2023 case study, the American Hospital Association reported that virtually all of RML’s patients (95 percent) are transferred directly from intensive care units. The study also reported that 65 hospitals across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin referred patients to RML’s Chicago and Hinsdale locations. It described RML as the largest ventilator-weaning hospital in the United States.
At RML Physicians are on site around the clock, every patient has their own room, and a nurse clinical liaison keeps families informed from referral to admission. RML accepts Medicare and Medicaid, and private insurance. RML is a partnership with Loyola University Health System and Advocate Health Care.
Care programs include ventilator weaning, advanced wound care, stroke and neurologic recovery, organ transplant recovery, VAD support and medically complex care. See all of RML’s long-term acute care services, or find addresses and phone numbers for RML’s long-term acute care hospital locations in Chicago and Hinsdale.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find an LTCH?
Ask the hospital case manager or social worker which long-term acute care hospitals they refer to. Then look up each one on Medicare Care Compare, where you can search by location and review quality measures. What is an LTCH facility?
An LTCH facility is a long-term acute care hospital: a licensed hospital for patients who still need hospital-level treatment after a serious illness, injury or intensive care stay. Medicare uses the term long-term care hospital (LTCH) for the same type of facility. Patients typically have more than one serious medical condition and need daily physician oversight.
How long do patients stay in a long-term acute care hospital?
Does Medicare cover a long-term acute care hospital stay?
Can families tour a long-term acute care hospital before admission?
Getting help in Chicago and the western suburbs
The Hinsdale campus serves patients from the western suburbs, and the Chicago campus serves the broader metropolitan area. RML accepts referrals from hospitals across the Chicagoland area and DuPage County.
RML long-term acute care hospital in Chicago: 3435 West Van Buren Street, Chicago, Illinois 60624. General information: 773-826-6300. Admissions: 773-826-6400.
RML long-term acute care hospital in Hinsdale: 5601 South County Line Road, Hinsdale, Illinois 60521. General information: 630-286-4000. Admissions: 630-286-4100.
Every situation is different. Talk with the treating physician and discharge planner about which setting fits your loved one’s needs right now.
