Table 2.

Definition of dependent variables

Measure of Hospitalization	Definition of Hospitalization Measure
Rates of episodes of hospital care	The discrete number of hospitalization episodes from admission to discharge. Hospitalizations were treated as a single episode when readmission to another hospital occurred within one day, to account for transfers from one hospital to another.
Rates of length of stay per admission	An average of the number of days in hospital for each episode of care.
Readmission rates to acute care	Readmission within 30 days of discharge from the initial admission.