Short-term rehabilitation — what to expect after a hospital stay
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or financial advice. Please consult appropriate professionals for guidance specific to your situation.
Your parent is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow, but they can't come home yet. They've had a stroke or surgery or a serious infection, and they need intensive rehabilitation before they're ready to manage at home or in their regular living situation. The hospital is sending them to a rehabilitation facility, sometimes called a skilled nursing facility or rehab center, and you're trying to understand what that means, what to expect, and how long they'll be there.
The hope is temporary. Rehabilitation is not a permanent placement. It's a focused time where your parent receives intensive therapy, works on rebuilding strength and function, and gets ready to go back to their previous living situation. Some people do go back home. Some people recover enough function to go to assisted living instead of moving in with you. Some people improve less than hoped and move to a longer-term care setting. But the point of rehabilitation is that it's time-limited and it's focused on recovery.
Understanding what rehabilitation actually is, how it works, and what realistic expectations are matters because right now you're probably emotionally exhausted from the hospital stay, and the idea of rehabilitation might feel like another level of institutional care when what you want is to bring your parent home. Rehabilitation is actually the bridge between the hospital and wherever comes next.
What to Expect After Hospitalization
When your parent is discharged from the hospital, they're medically stable enough that they don't need hospital-level care anymore. But they're not stable enough to go home without supervision and help. They might not be able to walk without help. They might not be able to bathe themselves. They might be confused about their medications or the instructions they've been given. They need a place in between the hospital and home.
Rehabilitation serves that purpose. It's where they recover more strength and function. Your mom who had a stroke works on regaining movement in her arm, on walking better, on speaking more clearly. Your dad who had surgery works on managing without pain medication, on strengthening after time in bed, on getting his energy back. Your parent who had a serious infection works on regaining stamina and normal function.
The timeline is different for different situations. Some people spend a week in rehabilitation and go home significantly improved. Some spend six weeks there. Some are in rehabilitation and realize that home won't work anymore, so they transition to assisted living or another facility. The question isn't usually how long will they be there, but rather what will they be able to do when they leave?
This is important to understand: rehabilitation is not about returning to exactly where they were before the health event. That's a fantasy you might be holding onto, and I say that gently. Rehabilitation is about returning to the best function they can achieve given what their body experienced. Sometimes that's close to before. Sometimes it's less. You need to be prepared for both possibilities.
The recovery process also isn't linear. Your parent might improve quickly for a week and then plateau. They might have a setback where they get an infection or hurt themselves and lose ground. Progress in rehabilitation is real, but it's often slower and more complicated than the hospital experience.
The Rehabilitation Setting
Rehabilitation happens in a few different settings. Some hospitals have inpatient rehabilitation units, so your parent moves from acute care to rehabilitation within the same building. Some people go to separate rehabilitation facilities, standalone buildings designed specifically for rehabilitation. Some skilled nursing facilities have rehabilitation wings or units. Each is slightly different.
Hospital-based rehabilitation usually has more medical oversight. There are doctors available, nurses readily available, the whole hospital machinery behind the scenes. It's more intensive and more clinical. It's better for people with complex medical needs or for those recovering from serious events like stroke.
Free-standing rehabilitation facilities are entirely devoted to rehabilitation. The staff knows rehabilitation, the culture is about recovery and progress, the whole place is organized around helping people improve function. They might have less medical support immediately available, but they might also have more expertise in rehabilitation specifically.
Skilled nursing facilities with rehabilitation units are kind of in between. They have nursing care available, they have rehabilitation staff, but they're also caring for people in longer-term placements. The rehabilitation unit might feel different from the rest of the facility, but it's the same building.
The intensity of therapy is important. How much physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy is your parent getting? Are they in therapy multiple hours a day, or an hour here and there? The intensity of therapy correlates with how much improvement people make. More therapy generally means more progress, though at a certain point people reach their limit for the day and can't do more.
What does the day look like? Usually there's breakfast, then therapy, then lunch, more therapy, meals, evening activities. Visitors usually fit in around the therapy schedule. Your parent is working hard most of the day if they're in active rehabilitation. They're tired because the work of recovery is exhausting.
Your Parent's Participation
Here's where your parent's mental state and motivation matter. Rehabilitation is hard. It's painful sometimes. It's frustrating because the body doesn't do what it used to. It requires your parent to show up and try even when they're tired and hurting and scared about whether they'll ever get better. They need motivation to do that.
Some people are motivated by the goal of going home. They know if they work hard, they might get home sooner. Some people are motivated by the goal of improving function for its own sake. Some people are just motivated by stubbornness, which is actually a great motivator for rehabilitation.
Some people get depressed during rehabilitation. They see how much they've lost. They feel hopeless about whether it will come back. They resist therapy because what's the point. That's a real psychiatric response to serious health trauma, and it needs to be addressed. Talk to the rehab team about whether your parent needs antidepressant support or counseling.
Your parent also needs to accept their limitations. They need to understand that they can't do what they used to do yet, and maybe never will. That's a grief. It needs to be grieved, but it also needs to be accepted so they can work with what they have. The rehabilitation team can help with this, but family can too. You can help your parent be realistic about what recovery might look like.
Visit regularly. Watch the therapy sessions if you're allowed. Ask the therapists what you can do at home to support recovery. Encourage your parent without pushing. Be honest about what you're seeing in terms of improvement. Support their efforts even when it's slow.
Be prepared for the conversation about what happens next. At some point during or toward the end of rehabilitation, the team will start talking about discharge planning. Where is your parent going? Home? Assisted living? A facility? What support will they need? This is not a conversation to avoid. This is where you plan the next piece.
Some people come through rehabilitation and go home and do really well. Some come through and go to assisted living because they can't manage home alone. Some realize during rehabilitation that they're not going to get the function back they hoped for, and they need more support than they planned on. All of those outcomes are possible. Rehabilitation shows you which one is realistic for your parent.
How To Help Your Elders provides educational content for family caregivers. This is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, or financial advice. Every family situation is different — what works for one may not work for another.