Care Compass California · Printable HTML guide
Three care settings, clearly named.
“Acute nursing home” is not a standard California license category. Ask the care team which licensed setting they mean and what services are needed each day.
Start with the person’s current medical needs.
Care settings are not interchangeable. The treating team should determine when hospital-level treatment is no longer needed and what setting can safely provide the next level of care.
01
Acute-care hospital
For a serious, urgent, or rapidly changing condition that requires hospital resources and close medical oversight.
- Focus
- Diagnosis, treatment, stabilization
- Common services
- Surgery, imaging, IV medications, intensive monitoring
- Typical next step
- Home or another recovery setting after stabilization
02
Skilled nursing facility
For daily licensed nursing or rehabilitation when returning home is not yet safe or practical.
- Focus
- Recovery, rehabilitation, ongoing nursing care
- Common services
- Therapy, wound care, medication management
- Typical next step
- Home, assisted living, or longer-term support
03
Subacute program
A higher-intensity program for people with complex needs who no longer require acute hospital care.
- Focus
- Complex, extended recovery and support
- Common services
- May include ventilator, tracheostomy, or intensive wound care
- Availability
- Services and patient criteria vary by program
Questions to bring to discharge planning
- Is the person medically stable enough to leave the hospital?
- What skilled service is needed each day, and for how long?
- Is the facility licensed for the required level of care?
- How often are nurses, physicians, and therapists available?
- What is covered, and what could become private-pay?
- What is the discharge goal, and how is progress measured?