Swing bed
What is a swing bed?
Medicare permits small rural hospitals to use its beds as needed, either for acute care or skilled care, hence the term “Swing Bed.” Some physicians may “swing” patients from one level of care to another while staying in the same facility.
If you find yourself needing time to recover from a surgery, illness or injury, a swing bed program would allow you to recover in a hospital setting versus a nursing home. In the hospital, you would have easy access to nursing care and therapies. The goal of swing bed is to assist you or your loved on in becoming as independent as possible before discharge to home.
Who pays for swing bed?
Medicare part A will generally pay for Swing Bed if the patients meets the following criteria.
- Your swing bed care must be related to an acute hospital stay.
- You must need skilled nursing and/or rehabilitative services on a daily basis.
- You must have a three night qualifying stay in an acute care setting in the past 30 days.
Staff at Frio Regional Hospital can assist with the process of verification of services.
What type of services does swing bed offer?
The goal with our swing bed program is to help you achieve your maximum level of function and return home. Since swing bed is located within our hospital, we are able to offer specialized services such as:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Registered dietician services
- IV therapy
- 24 hour registered nurses on staff
- 24 hour Emergency Department on site
- Low nurse to patient ratio
- In-house pharmacy
- Social services
- Activities
- Private rooms
- Discharge planning
- Close to home!
When is swing bed appropriate?
If you or a loved one needs any of the following care, swing bed would be appropriate.
- Need to heal and regain strength after a hospitalization or surgery
- Wound care
- IV therapy
- Stroke rehabilitation
How long can I stay in a swing bed?
As long as you are making measurable progress you can stay in a swing bed program. You could be in the program as little as three days up to 21 days depending on progress.
Transitional services
During your stay in our facility, we will work with you and your family to ensure a safe and easy transition back to home. We can help with Home Health, hospice, therapy, doctors appointments and medications. If you require any of these services, please contact our Utilization Review Staff Nurse.
