Hospital for Special Care provides highly specialized care for patients living with complex and often catastrophic medical conditions. We are the primary provider of care for both adult and pediatric patients who qualify for Medicaid and require a long-term acute care hospital level of care.
85%+
Approximately 85 percent of our total inpatient days rely on Medicaid reimbursement, including nearly 100 percent of our pediatric patient stays
70-75
Each day we care for 70-75 patients dependent on or in process of weaning from a ventilator
#1
We operate the only “Partial Hospital Program” in the state of Connecticut, dedicated to serving the needs of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The complex care our patients require demands a different set of clinical competencies than other care environments.
- Recruitment and retention of a skilled licensed and unlicensed patient care workforce remains our greatest challenge, continues to impact access to care, and drives labor costs to unsustainable levels.
- Our highly resourced programs, including our Partial Hospital Program, yield exceptional outcomes that result in fewer Emergency Room (ER) and inpatient stays. The cost of these programs, however, far exceeds the reimbursement provided.
Our patients need care today and most have nowhere else to turn.
Our Priority
We have recognized the increasing need for ASD services in our community, and since 2012, have made significant investments in the development of our ASD services. Our partnership with the State of Connecticut has had a meaningful impact. Today, we proudly operate a nationally recognized system of care for children and adolescents most impacted by ASD. However, despite these advancements, the demand for services continues to outpace our capacity, especially when it comes to managing individuals with ASD who find themselves in crises. The need to get both adults and children with ASD out of the ER and acute care system remains, and many families continue to face delays in accessing appropriate care in more stable, therapeutic settings.
Our priority is to enhance our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) to meet the growing demand for specialized, early intervention services, especially for those with co-occurring conditions that often accompany ASD.
A key element of providing this specialized care is the recruitment and retention of highly skilled staff. The care required by individuals with ASD, particularly those with complex behavioral and emotional needs, demands a workforce with specialized training, experience, and expertise in autism spectrum disorders. We are committed to maintaining a team of professionals who are dedicated to providing high-quality care, but without additional support, the sustainability of our staffing model is at risk. Additional investment in both recruitment and retention efforts is essential to meet the growing demand and ensure consistent, expert care.
We Need Your Support
We cannot do this work alone and ask respectfully for your support. With your help, we can return our focus to expanding access to care for the highly specialized patient populations we serve and training the healthcare workforce of tomorrow. Specifically, we ask you to support the following:
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- Increasing the reimbursement rate for ASD PHP programs to 500/day to more closely align to the cost of delivering this highly specialized, resource-intensive program.
- Establishing a rate-setting process to adequately fund and sustain the safety net Hospital for Special Care has created in partnership with the State of Connecticut for our most vulnerable residents, ensuring that healthcare professionals who choose to care for Medicaid patients can earn equitable wages and benefits.