A rehabilitation center is a facility that seeks to help individuals recover from a variety of ailments, some physical and others caused by substance abuse or mental illness. Some centers offer residential areas, where those being treated will stay overnight. Others are strictly outpatient facilities. Many will specialize in either physical rehabilitation, or substance abuse rehabilitation.
A physical rehabilitation center offering residential services often doubles as a nursing home, though depending on the setup, the patients may be kept separately. These homes are especially good for those who require a substantial amount of physical rehabilitation. Often, for those who live alone after surgery, a rehab center may be the only option until they regain their mobility. This allows them to have someone else focus on the daily duties, such as cooking and cleaning while they are able to work on physical and occupational therapy.
This type of rehabilitation center is often a cheaper option than a hospital setting. It also offers an intermediate level of care between the hospital and home environment. Further, there are usually full time occupational and physical therapists on staff. These individuals will often work with patients on a daily basis to help in the recovery process. This daily attention may provide the quickest path to recovery.
Often, a rehabilitation center that does not offer residential care is called a rehabilitation clinic, though this term is sometimes applied to residential facilities as well. This non-residential option is an ideal choice for those who do have support at home, or who are able to maintain enough mobility that getting around, and for whom doing simple daily tasks is not too difficult. From a cost standpoint, outpatient care will be the cheapest, and offers patients the luxury of being at home most of the time.
A drug or substance abuse rehabilitation center may be in a closed facility offering either outpatient or residential care. The level of care often depends on the individual. Some may feel they need the constant attention that a residential rehab center will offer. Others may just need to show up for counseling sessions. In some cases, the level of care may be determined by a court order.
Those who find they need drug rehabilitation, also called drug rehab, may stay at a rehabilitation center for weeks, or even months. Often, that amount of time is what is needed to break the cycle of dependency on the drug. In addition to having drug counselors on staff, these centers will usually employ medical doctors that are trained to deal with the physical effects of withdrawal.