RML Specialty Hospital
Menu Close
Close
Get in Touch
RML Specialty Hospital

What It Means to Work at an LTACH: Clinical Careers at RML Specialty Hospital

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
RML Specialty Hospital is a not-for-profit Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) with campuses in Chicago and Hinsdale, Illinois. This is not a standard hospital, and the work here is not standard hospital work. If you are a registered nurse, respiratory therapist, or allied health professional weighing LTACH nursing careers in Illinois, this article explains what the role actually involves.

What Is a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital — and Why It Changes How You Practice

A Long-Term Acute Care Hospital treats patients who are too medically complex to leave the hospital setting but no longer require an intensive care unit. These are patients recovering from prolonged critical illness — ventilator dependence, complex wounds, multi-system conditions — who need continuous, hospital-level care measured in weeks rather than days.

That single difference reshapes daily practice. On a standard ICU or acute care floor, you often hand a patient off within hours or days and rarely see the full recovery. At an LTACH, you follow the same patient through the entire arc: the slow wean off a ventilator, the first time they sit up, the day they walk out.
The pace rewards clinical judgment and continuity over rapid turnover. For many clinicians, that is the heart of any honest comparison of LTACH vs hospital nursing — fewer admissions per shift, deeper patient relationships, and a multidisciplinary team that stays consistent across the stay.
RML is built specifically for this work. As a not-for-profit hospital, our clinical decisions are driven by patient need rather than volume. Our team includes more than 70 physicians and 600 employees, with physicians on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so changes in a patient’s condition are addressed in real time rather than waiting for a callback.

We are partners with Loyola University Health System and Advocate Health Care, connecting our staff to broader clinical resources and expertise. For professionals seeking clinical careers at a not-for-profit hospital, that combination of mission, continuity, and on-site physician support defines the environment.

Clinical Roles at RML Specialty Hospital

Across our Chicago and Hinsdale campuses, RML hires for a defined set of clinical and allied health roles:

  • Registered Nurses (RN): RNs carry smaller, higher-acuity assignments and play a central role in care planning for medically complex patients. Both campuses hire RNs — nursing jobs in Chicago, Illinois, and at our Hinsdale campus are posted as they open.
  • Respiratory Therapists (RRT): Because RML treats more ventilator patients than any LTACH in the nation, respiratory therapist LTACH jobs here center on advanced ventilator weaning and airway management rather than routine floor coverage.
  • Rehabilitation Therapists (PT/OT/SLP): Physical, occupational, and speech therapists rebuild strength, mobility, and communication across long recovery timelines.
  • Pharmacists: Clinical pharmacists manage complex medication regimens and antibiotic stewardship for critically ill patients.
  • Dietitians: Registered dietitians direct nutrition care that often determines the pace of ventilator weaning and wound healing.
We also draw on psychologists and spiritual care professionals as part of an interdisciplinary team, and we post only the roles RML actually staffs.

The Programs You Will Work Within

The work at RML is organized around specialized clinical programs. These are what you will practice, day to day:

  • Ventilator Weaning: RML’s ventilator weaning program is the largest in the United States, and weaning is central to our care model rather than an ancillary service.
  • Advanced Wound Care: Our advanced wound care teams manage chronic, surgical, and trauma-related wounds that standard facilities are not equipped to treat.
  • Stroke & Neurologic Recovery: Interdisciplinary teams help patients regain function after stroke and other neurologic events.
  • Organ Transplant Recovery: Specialized post-transplant care for patients who need extended hospital-level monitoring.
  • Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program: Cardiac recovery support for patients living with mechanical circulatory support.
  • Medically Complex Care: Coordinated treatment for patients managing several overlapping conditions at once.
Each program presents a different clinical challenge, and most clinicians at RML work across more than one over the course of their tenure.

Frequently Asked Questions About Clinical Careers at RML

How do I apply for a clinical position at RML Specialty Hospital?

All clinical positions are posted on the RML Careers page, and candidates apply directly through our online application portal. You do not need a recruiter or staffing agency to apply, applications go straight to RML’s hiring team. Open roles for both the Chicago and Hinsdale campuses are listed in the same portal.

What clinical specialties does RML hire for?

RML hires registered nurses, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation therapists (physical, occupational, and speech), pharmacists, and clinical dietitians, along with physicians and advanced practice providers. Both our Chicago and Hinsdale campuses recruit across these disciplines. Because we are a long-term acute care hospital, most clinical roles center on medically complex, high-acuity patients rather than short-stay general care.

What is it like to work as a nurse at a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital?

It is different from acute care floor nursing in one fundamental way: time. You care for fewer patients at higher acuity, and you stay with them for weeks, not hours. You see the full recovery arc — the ventilator wean, the first steps, the discharge home.

The model is genuinely team-based, with physicians on-site around the clock and therapists, pharmacists, and dietitians working the same patients alongside you. For nurses who want depth and continuity over constant turnover, LTACH nursing offers a kind of practice that acute hospital nursing rarely allows.

Does RML Specialty Hospital offer shift flexibility for nursing staff?

Yes. Because RML provides hospital-level care 24 hours a day, our nursing teams work across day, evening, and night rotations. Specific shift lengths and scheduling options are listed with each open position on the Careers page.

How to Apply

RML posts all current clinical openings for both the Chicago and Hinsdale campuses on our Careers page. To apply, view current openings and apply through our secure online portal — no recruiter or staffing agency required.