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 Do
You Need Extra Recovery Time? Swing Bed May Be The Answer-
Julie Davenport,
Director of Patient Services
Are you planning
to have a major surgery? Do you have a family member who is
hospitalized at a larger hospital in Kansas City or Columbia and ready
to get them back home? I-70 Medical Center can help! Not only do we
provide acute care and emergency department services, we also
participate in Medicare’s “swing-bed program”.
“Swing bed” is a
concept developed by Medicare in the 1970’s to help with underutilized
hospital beds and the lack of nursing home beds in rural areas. These
two issues have resolved themselves over time, partly due to the
conversion of most rural hospitals to Critical Access Hospitals like
I-70 Medical Center.
A swing bed
doesn’t swing physically, but it swings in the way Medicare reimburses
for the care provided to the patient. A patient being treated for an
acute condition can remain in the hospital for follow-up care rather
than be discharged to home when they are not quite ready or discharged
to the nursing home when they really only need care for a few more
days or weeks. The patient stays in the same bed, receives the same
care, but the services are billed differently. Or the patient may
have been hospitalized in facility away from home and be transferred
back to their local hospital for their swing bed stay.
To participate
in the program, Medicare requires that the patient need “skilled
nursing care.” This would include care such as intravenous feedings
(receiving nutrition through an IV line), placing catheters, insulin
regulation, wound care, injections or intravenous antibiotics,
laboratory monitoring, pain management, or rehabilitation (speech,
physical, and occupational). In addition the patient must have spent
three consecutive days as an inpatient in an acute care facility
within the prior 30 days.
Many of the
patients requiring skilled care services are folks who need therapy
after a stroke, major accident or an orthopedic surgery. The swing bed
program at I-70 Medical Center incorporates skilled nursing care and
rehabilitation so that our patients meet their maximum potential prior
to leaving the facility. Each of our patients receives care
individualized to their specific needs in order to get them well and
back to their life as it was before their hospitalization. Our
therapists help patients focus on their recovery goals to get them
home quicker and stronger than ever before.
In addition to
those services needed to get our patients back to home or work, our
swing bed program is able to provide care at the end of life. Our
staff offers compassionate care during this difficult time by
providing support and comfort to patients and their families.
Whatever your
individual needs may be I-70 Medical Center is here to help you. We
provide a state of the art health care facility with professional
staff which can help you recover close to your home and your family.
Swing bed is a positive step in your transition back to good health!
If you have questions about our program please call Julie or Crystal
at 660-335-4700.
Click Here for a Downloadable Copy of Our Swingbed Services Brochure-
552K
or
Click Here to Review
Our Swingbed Services Online |
