LTCH
also known as: Long-Term Care Hospital
An acute-care hospital that specializes in patients needing >25 days of inpatient stay — chronic ventilator weaning, complex wound care, multi-organ failure.
Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs) are inpatient facilities certified to serve patients with average length-of-stay >25 days. Common LTCH patient profiles include ventilator-dependent patients (extubation/weaning), complex non-healing wounds, severe respiratory failure, and post-trauma rehabilitation.
LTCHs are paid under a separate Medicare payment system (LTCH-PPS), not IPPS. There are roughly 380 LTCHs in the U.S., heavily concentrated in TX, LA, OK, and FL.
In HCRIS data, LTCHs file the same Form 2552-10 as short-term acute care hospitals — but with very different operational statistics. A typical LTCH has 30-60 beds, 600-1,200 discharges/year, and 100,000+ inpatient days (reflecting the long lengths of stay).
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