Providing Quality Care - Hospitals

Hospitals are health care facilities which offer a wide selection of services, up to and including long term patient care. Hospitals can be contained in a single building, or may consist of a campus including several buildings. Most hospitals today are funded and run by state agencies, insurance companies, as well as by for profit, and nonprofit organizations. This is quite different from past practices, when hospitals were frequently funded and run by philanthropists and religious orders. Regardless of funding, the mission of hospitals remains unchanged: to provide quality care to treat and prevent sickness.

Types of Hospitals

There are several types of hospitals. Perhaps the most common type of hospital is the general hospital. General hospitals are set up to provide outpatient care through emergency wards and outpatient clinics for offering non-emergent therapy. Often, general hospitals serve a region encompassing several cities or towns, and thus are usually equipped to handle large capacities of people. General hospitals often also have large capacity intensive care units, to be able to manage critically ill patients. Other wards may include a birthing center, surgery, physical therapy, cancer, and cardiac care.

Teaching Hospitals

Teaching hospitals are generally affiliated with medical schools. They combine medical care of patients with preparation of medical students for service. They also train those doctors who have completed medical school who wish to specialize in a specific branch of medicine, such as internal medicine, radiology, or neurology. These doctors are known as residents and work under the supervision of experienced doctors at the hospital. In addition to training the next generation of physicians, teaching hospitals are often pioneering hospitals, featuring state of the art facilities and often offering cutting edge treatments. Often teaching hospitals are located on or near medical school campuses and are the site of research, as well.

Specialized Care

Some hospitals are specialized, offering a specific range of services. Burn care centers, childrenâs hospitals, cancer treatment facilities, and trauma centers are all examples of specialized hospitals. Psychiatric hospitals also fall into this category. Often patients must be referred to specialized hospitals for care. After treatment, they are generally sent back to their referring hospitals and doctors for follow-up care.