If you are seriously injured, you may end up at a health care facility more specialized than the hospitals we are all used to. If you need this kind of care, you might even be transferred from your original hospital to one of these facilities:

A Trauma center handles patients who have sustained a sudden and serious physical injury. They are ranked from Level I to Level IV, with the most serious cases handled at Level I facilities. Because they are expensive to run, they are not common; patients outside major cities may have to be airlifted to one.

A Rehabilitation center is a facility where patients work to reestablish or relearn abilities they lost because of a serious injury, through therapy. Physical therapy helps with movement or prevents loss of movement, while occupational therapy might focus on relearning activities of daily life or finding ways to perform them despite a new disability.

Burn centers focus on patients with serious burns. They not only treat burn injuries, but work to help patients return to everyday life, often with therapists, social workers, psychiatrists and other professionals who are not conventional doctors.

Assisted living facilities may be appropriate for injury victims who need long-term physical or occupational therapy and help with everyday living. This might be true of someone with a severe brain injury or spinal damage. In addition to providing meals and housekeeping, as at a nursing home, the staff at an assisted living facility works with patients to help them regain independence and abilities. Some patients are able to return home eventually; others may need to remain in a facility throughout their lives.

Home care is an option for patients whose injuries do not require full-time hospitalization. A nurse or other health care professional might visit every day or a few times a week. Depending on the injuries, the professional might do anything from changing bandages to administering a treatment with an IV to helping with personal needs.