Examine the role and function of acute care facilities (ACF) and discuss how ACF

contribute to the delivery of care in the United States health care delivery system.

Your response must be at least 200 words in length.

On Acute care facilities (ACF) in the US health care delivery system

An acute level of medical care signifies care required by a patient which is critical

but short term in nature say for example the victim of an assault, a person involved in a

road accident, post incident trauma and shock, immediate period of recovery after a

major surgical operation. In such cases, the patient is usually needs to be at a hospital

where trained nurses, professionals and physicians are available as well as advanced

technical equipment for imaging etc. and medication to suit a wide range of medical

situations. Acute Care Hospitals (ACH) are hospitals where the use of the said Acute

Care Facilities (ACF) is available for the utility of the citizens, as directed by the

physician. Apart from ACHs, there are also hospitals for long term stay and recovery

and hospitals for the mentally ill. There also may be old age homes for geriatric patients.

The equipment available in ACHs tend to be very expensive/ Therefore, It makes

no sense to keep these state of the art facilities idle, and the more they are used, the

better is their ROI. ACFs are used in life saving conditions and in the period when the

patient is in a critical state. Once there is no danger to the patient, he or she is

discharged from the ACH and advised either to recover at home or at long term

recuperation hospitals.
 Some of these hospitals can be educational centers too where budding would be

doctors and nurses are initiated into the intricacies of Medical Science. These hospitals

can be owned by the government or by private chains. They may be affiliated to a

religious order (Roman Catholic Church) or may even be non-sectarian "voluntary" non-

profit hospitals.

Therefore, this is the indispensable role of ACF Hospitals (and that of other types

too) in the US Health Care System. The first guardian angel between the critically ill

patient and death is ACF.

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