Nurses, Nursing Education, and Nursing Workforce: Definitions

D. HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM TERMINOLOGY

1. Inpatient Day of Care. Length of time between the census-taking hours on two successive calendar days for patients receiving care in an inpatient health care facility.
   
   
2. Inpatient Days. The number of adult and pediatric days of care, excluding newborn days of care, rendered during the entire reporting period. (AHA).
   
   
3. Average Daily Census. Average number of people served on an inpatient basis on a single day during the reporting period. Calculated by dividing the total number of inpatient days by the number of days in the reporting period. (AHA).
   
   
4. Length of Stay. he number of inpatient days the patient stays at the health care facility.