Asheville Specialty Hospital (ASH) is a sister hospital of Mission Health and is licensed for 34 patient rooms.

ASH is the only The Joint Commission-accredited long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) in the western North Carolina region. LTACHs are specialty hospitals that care for patients with serious medical conditions, such as severe wounds, respiratory, cardiac and renal failure, traumatic brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, severe surgical complications, major trauma and more.

At ASH, patients are admitted from an acute care hospital, often from intensive care or step down units, and have an average length of stay at ASH of 30 days. Most patients are medically complex requiring multispecialty medical services provided by board-certified physicians and/or nurse practitioners making daily rounds and registered nurses providing 24-hour complete care.

ASH also specializes in caring for patients needing management of multiple intravenous medications and those on or being weaned from prolonged ventilator use. The long length of stay allows the patient’s health to improve to the best point of discharge. Many patients are able to be discharged to home, a rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing care. Hospice care can be provided or arranged after discharge.

Our multidisciplinary team approach provides each patient with a well-coordinated treatment plan. Members of the team include medical staff, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, registered dieticians, wound care specialists, nurses, chaplains and team members from pharmacy, respiratory, rehab, case management and more. We specialize in helping patients reclaim their health after a catastrophic injury or illness.

Resources

The National Association of Long Term Hospitals (NALTH) is a national association representing acute long-term care hospitals and patients. A member-driven organization, NALTH supports a collegial process when focusing on goals in the areas of advocacy, education, research and networking. NALTH fosters open and ongoing dialogue with governmental policy makers.