UT Health to discontinue long-term acute care to meet demand
Published 5:40 am Thursday, March 28, 2024
- UT Health East Texas Tyler Hospital is pictured. (Tyler Morning Telegraph File)
From Staff Reports
UT Health East Texas will discontinue Long-Term Acute Care (LTAC) services next month as the health system responds to the community’s changing healthcare needs and a growing demand for inpatient acute care beds in Tyler.
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The LTAC, which has 18 patient beds, serves patients experiencing chronic, acute illnesses requiring an estimated length of stay of 25 days with complex medical treatment.
As UT Health Tyler expands services such as women’s health and cardiac care, including the start of an ECMO program later this year, the hospital will use the additional space for those and other service lines that have experienced significant growth.
“This is a collaborative expansion to better meet the needs of the community,” said Tracy Vinciguerra, CEO of LTAC and UT Health East Texas Rehabilitation Center. “Reorienting these beds will allow for better utilization of our resources and enable us to serve a wider variety of patient needs.”
The LTAC has stopped accepting new patients and will transition operations on April 27. The LTAC has partnered with existing long-term care facilities in Tyler to accept any existing patients at that time.
“We are working closely with other providers to make the transition as seamless as possible for our patients and their families,” Vinciguerra said.
She added that current LTAC employees have been offered positions at UT Health Tyler.
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UT Health East Texas provides care to thousands of patients each year through an extensive regional network that includes 10 hospitals, more than 80 clinics, the Olympic Plaza Tower, 13 regional rehabilitation facilities, two freestanding emergency centers, regional home health services covering 41 counties, an EMS fleet of more than 50 ambulances and four helicopters, and a comprehensive seven-trauma center care network, including the region’s only Level 1 trauma facility.