Sanatorium vs. Hospital — What's the Difference?

A sanatorium (also spelled sanitarium or sanitorium) is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century before the discovery of antibiotics. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" or the east-European "sanatorium" (a kind of health resort, as in the Battle Creek Sanitarium) and "sanatorium" (a hospital).

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized medical and nursing staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency department to treat urgent health problems ranging from fire and accident victims to a sudden illness.

An establishment for the medical treatment of people who are convalescing or have a chronic illness.

A facility that provides emergency, inpatient, and usually outpatient medical care for sick or injured people.

An institution for the treatment of chronic diseases or for medically supervised recuperation.

A facility that provides veterinary care for sick or injured animals.

A resort for improvement or maintenance of health, especially for convalescents. Also called sanitarium.

Chiefly British A charitable institution, such as an orphanage or a home for the elderly.

An institution that treats chronic diseases, and provides supervised recuperation and convalescence.

A repair shop for specified items

An establishment for the treatment of the sick; a resort for invalids. See Sanitarium.

(Archaic) A hospice for travelers or pilgrims.

A hospital for recuperation or for the treatment of chronic diseases

A large medical facility, usually in a building with multiple floors, where seriously ill or injured patients are given extensive medical and/or surgical treatment.

Pejorative terms for an insane asylum

A building founded for the long-term care of its residents, such as an almshouse. The residents may have no physical ailments, but simply need financial support.

(obsolete) A place of lodging.

(obsolete) Hospitable.

A place for shelter or entertainment; an inn.

A building in which the sick, injured, or infirm are received and treated; a public or private institution founded for reception and cure, or for the refuge, of persons diseased in body or mind, or disabled, infirm, or dependent, and in which they are treated either at their own expense, or more often by charity in whole or in part; a tent, building, or other place where the sick or wounded of an army cared for.

Hospitable.

A health facility where patients receive treatment

A medical institution where sick or injured people are given medical or surgical care