Hospital types and ownership explained

The type and ownership of a hospital tells you what it is set up to treat and who runs it.

Types

Acute care hospitals provide short-term inpatient and emergency care — the general hospital most people picture. Critical access hospitals are small rural facilities with limited beds and longer stays, kept open with special federal payments. Psychiatric, rehabilitation and children's hospitals specialise by patient group, and long-term care hospitals treat patients who need extended stays.

Ownership

Ownership categories describe who operates the facility: government (federal, state, county or hospital district), voluntary non-profit (religious or community), proprietary (for-profit corporation), and physician-owned. Ownership affects governance and charity-care policies but is not by itself a quality indicator — the quality measures on each hospital page are the better guide.