Vassar Brothers Medical Center Inpatient Care

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Our room service-style meal service is available seven days a week, from 6:30 am–7 pm. If you have an urge for something late at night, on-unit meal options or select menu options through York Street Catering are available. An associate will give you a menu that works with your diet. Order your meal by phone, and it’ll be delivered to your room within 45 minutes. 

• Bedside food menu
• Pediatric food menu

• Patient care is moving steadily from hospital to community, specifically to home; preparing and supporting those non-professionals who will be providing or coordinating care in the home setting is critical. 
• The Care Partner program is based on assisting hospitals with implementing strategies to identify patients at risk for preventable readmissions and improve care transitions. 
• Evidence shows that implementation of a Care Partner program positively impacts readmission reduction, resource utilization and patient satisfaction.
• The goal is for the patient to identify a person who will assist them during their hospital stay actively participating with the health care team in the patient’s recovery and when the patient is discharged home continuing with a plan of care designed to keep the patient healthy and safe!

A Care Partner is someone the patient chooses to help them during and after their hospital stay. 

• Care Partners can be family members, friends, neighbors or paid assistants.
• The Care Partner will also help us, the healthcare team, better understand the patient’s needs and preferences and are allowed to participate in their medical care. 
• The Care Partner should be prepared to be involved in the patient’s care for the entire hospital stay and be able to help with their needs at home. 
• The Care Partner will be informed of the patient’s health progress. 
• They can participate in rounds and discussions with the medical team and other staff. 

Choosing a Care Partner can be a challenge for some patients. A sudden change of environment, the patient’s medical condition or hospital activity can become a barrier to making this choice. If a care partner is not identified the first time a patient is asked, the patient should be asked again at different times throughout the hospitalization until a care partner is identified. 

 
Example of scripting to assist you in finding out who the Care Partner is:

“Is there someone you can identify as a care partner while you are in the hospital and when you go home? This is the person who we will update about your care while you are in the hospital and teach along with you to understand your condition and help get you ready to go home and after you leave the hospital.”  

When your physician determines that your condition is stable and no longer requires an acute hospital stay, you’ll be discharged. If you can’t go directly home, different levels of care are available outside the hospital. Note that each of these options has specific insurance requirements and guidelines.

Your case manager will work with your insurance company to determine what services, if any, it will cover. Your insurance company makes the final decision about what it will pay. We suggest you review your insurance policy and contact your insurance company directly if you have questions about what post-hospital services may be covered.

In most cases, patients can go directly home after a hospital stay. Although some follow-up care may be necessary, we can provide it in an outpatient setting. If you need home healthcare, medical equipment or oxygen, your physician will order those services. The Case Management team will work with you and your insurance company to make the arrangements.

If you need short-term care after an injury or extended hospitalization, your physician may recommend acute or sub-acute rehabilitation, or outpatient services.

Physical, occupational and speech therapy can be provided in a rehabilitation facility. Sub-acute rehabilitation facilities generally provide between one and two hours of therapy per day. Your case manager will help you identify at least five potential facilities, and will help coordinate approval with your insurance company. Our affiliate, The Thompson House,* is a subacute rehabilitation facility. Our Case Management team can share information on this and other sub-acute rehabilitation facilities in the Hudson Valley, including their capabilities and quality ratings.

If have are an orthopedic, stroke or trauma patient, you may benefit from acute rehabilitation, an intensive, multidisciplinary program. There are very specific admission requirements for acute rehabilitation facilities, such as being able to tolerate three hours of therapeutic services per day, at least five days per week. Northern Dutchess Hospital, part of Nuvance Health, provides an acute rehabilitation program—there are others in nearby Westchester and Rockland counties.

Outpatient rehabilitation is provided by Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Northern Dutchess Hospital and Putnam Hospital Center. We have locations in Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Rhinebeck, Fishkill, Pawling, Carmel, Jefferson Valley and Katonah. Services at each location vary, but include physical, occupational and speech/swallowing therapy, and specialized programs for patients with pelvic health disorders, cancer, lymphedema, balance disorders and impairments due to stroke. For information on outpatient rehabilitation, please speak with your case manager.

Patients who need long-term care that can’t be provided at home may need a skilled nursing facility. These facilities offer the continued provision of care in a non-hospital setting.

If you require long-term care, your case manager will help you identify several facilities.

If you need more technically complex treatments, such as mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy care, bariatric care or dialysis, there are limited options within the Hudson Valley. Depending on availability, you may need a healthcare facility outside the area. Our case managers will work with you to identify appropriate facilities.

When curative care is no longer appropriate or desired, your care team may suggest palliative or hospice care. This type of care focuses on your comfort and on maintaining your quality of life.

Palliative care and hospice programs are available at some local skilled nursing facilities. Hospice care may also be provided at home or in a convalescent care setting. Your case manager will help you explore these options.