Meridian Health System

Many patients require intensive treatment over an extended period of time. AcuteCare Health System (ACHS ) Specialty Hospitals are designed to care for these critically ill patients. These patients were previously cared for either in acute care hospitals or transferred to subacute facilities. In acute care hospitals, where care is typically provided for a number of days, these patients often receive fragmented care ' to the detriment of the patient and the frustration of the family. Pressured by cost considerations and the demand of insurers, these patients often are transferred from the high level care of a hospital to a subacute facility that lacks the medical support and nursing availability that seriously ill patients deserve. ACHS Specialty Hospitals provide the optimal settings for these patients to heal and achieve maximal functioning. A New Dimension in Extended Hospital Care AcuteCare Health System Specialty Hospitals are small, integrated hospitals with the sole focus of caring for medically complex patients. Under the direction of its medical director, highly skilled and dedicated nurses, physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapists work together with specialists in every area to design and implement a therapeutic plan for each patient. Click here for more information about Our Team. Situated on the campus of a larger medical center, each ACHS Specialty Hospital is able to draw from the vast resources of a full-service hospital, while staying singularly focused on the care of our particular patients. Because our Specialty Hospitals are independent entities, they offer the benefits of a more individualized hospital setting, combined with such life-support services as ventilator weaning, complex wound care, parenteral nutrition, respiratory and cardiac monitoring, and dialysis. Click here for more information about our Programs and Services. Patients typically are referred to Specialty Hospitals ' through physician, nurse, case manager or social worker referral ' from an intensive care unit. Click here for eligibility requirements. Specializing in Advanced Care for Complex Conditions Our Specialty Hospitals are equipped to deliver comprehensive care that includes diagnostic and medical treatment, and rehabilitation for a full range of medically complex conditions. Patients may have one or more of the following diagnoses: Over the past several years, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS ) and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS ) have recognized the need for ensuring a continuum of care from a traditional hospital-based setting to a therapeutic, acute care environment ' prompting the creation of long term acute care hospitals (LTACHs ) as a new level of care. An LTACH (pronounced L-tack ) provides diagnostic and medical treatment and rehabilitation to patients whose conditions are medically complex and require an average length-of-stay of 25 days or more. Many LTACHs, including ACHS Specialty Hospitals, employ the hospital-within-a-hospital model, which offers a smaller, personalized environment within a larger, full-service hospital. These LTACHs are separately licensed medical/surgical inpatient units that have access to the extensive range of services available through the host hospital, including laboratory, radiology and other ancillary services. About AcuteCare Health System, LLC AcuteCare Health System (ACHS ), LLC, of Lakewood, N.J., is a privately owned corporation formed in 2002 to establish and manage long term acute care hospitals (LTACHs ). Under the leadership of chief executive officer Dan Czermak, ACHS has brought together a team of clinical and administrative professionals whose collective experience offers a comprehensive skill set that fosters the development and operation of LTACHs. Considered New Jersey's leader in developing long term acute care hospitals, ACHS currently operates two fully licensed 25-bed LTACHs: Specialty Hospita