Long-term care is often a catchall term for many types of care in the current health care system. Long-term care or long-term acute care may be used to describe care provided for a technology-dependent infant in a hospital setting. The use of this terminology is based on the setting in which care is provided, typically the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, in the larger patient care sphere, acute care is generally defined as “a pattern of health care in which a patient is treated for a brief but severe episode of illness, for the sequelae of an accident or other trauma, or during recovery from surgery. Acute care is usually given in a hospital by specialized personnel using complex and sophisticated technical equipment and materials, and it may involve intensive or emergency care.”1(p43)Chronic care is defined as services that “focus on long-term care of people with...

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