step-down unit
An intermediate level of care facility or ward that bridges the gap between acute hospital care and community or home-based rehabilitation for older patients.
Full Definition
A step-down unit (also called a transitional care unit or subacute unit) provides a lower intensity of medical monitoring than an acute ward while offering more structured rehabilitation than a residential care facility. In geriatric rehabilitation, patients are transferred to step-down units once medically stable but not yet ready for independent living. Editors must hyphenate the term consistently in all its uses as a compound noun or attributive modifier. The term should not be confused with 'step-up care', which denotes an escalation of care intensity.
Usage
Usage note: Always hyphenate: 'step-down unit', not 'step down unit'. Do not use 'step-down' to mean 'reduce medication dose' in the same document without clear contextual differentiation.
In Context
- "Following stabilisation of her cardiac status, the patient was transferred to the step-down unit to continue her mobility programme." — Inpatient transfer summary
- "The step-down unit team reviewed the patient's home environment assessment before finalising the discharge date." — Multidisciplinary team meeting record