Transitional care: filling the gap for older patients.

Frequently, when the acute phase of a frail older person's illness resolves, the patient is too weak to function independently and cannot be discharged from hospital. Acute care staff often lack the ability and resources to deal adequately with these situations. A program of transitional (or subacute) care at Ontario's Mississauga Hospital has been shown to fill this gap in the continuum of care by improving the functional level of frail elders and ensuring better bed utilization.