Published by: Medicare.gov
Hospitals
Hospitals provide medical, surgical, and psychiatric care to people who are sick or injured. Services are ordered by a doctor. These types of hospitals can be found here using the “Hospital type” filter:
Acute care: Give inpatient medical care and other related services for surgery, acute medical conditions, or injuries (usually for a short-term illness or condition).
Children’s: Inpatient care is mostly for people under age 18.
Critical access: Small facilities that give outpatient and limited inpatient services to people in rural areas.
Psychiatric: Specialty facilities that mainly give inpatient psychiatric services to diagnose and treat mental illness on a 24-hour basis, by or under the supervision of a physician.
Nursing homes
Nursing homes are facilities for people who need 24-hour care. Most nursing homes provide both short-term and long-term care, including:
- Short-term care for people who need rehabilitation after surgery, like physical therapy after a hip or knee replacement
- Short-term care for people who need skilled nursing to recover from an illness, like pneumonia
- Long-term care for people who need help with activities of daily living, like bathing, dressing, or eating
Some nursing homes offer specialized care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. The nursing homes here are certified by Medicare and/or Medicaid.
Home health services
Home health care provides skilled, short-term services in-home. These services are typically ordered by a doctor to help with recovery following an inpatient hospital stay, rehabilitation, or a stay at a facility providing skilled nursing care. In general, the goal of home health care is to help you get better, regain your independence, and be as self-sufficient as you can.
Home health agencies that serve your area are based on the ZIP code you enter in your search, regardless of where their office is located.
Hospice care
Hospice offers care and support that focuses on the quality of life for people and their caregivers who are experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness. This type of care is most often provided where patients live, whether it’s at home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. Hospice care uses a team of healthcare providers who care for patients’ medical, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Depending on the illness or condition, the hospice team creates a plan of care that can include some or all of these services:
Nursing care
- Hospice aide and homemaker services
- Social worker services
- Medical equipment and supplies
- Doctor/Physician Assistant services
- Prescription drugs for symptom control or pain relief
- Dietary counseling
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Speech-language pathology services (like to help with swallowing)
- Grief and loss counseling