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Transitional Care/Swing Bed

Many people are unsure of what a swing bed is. This is a great service for people who need to recover from an illness, injury, or surgery, and who are unable to immediately return home but do not want to go to a nursing home.

In 1997 Congress passed a law called The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. Part of this program allows for people who have had an “acute” hospital stay due to an illness, injury, or surgery to transfer to a rural hospital for further recovery and therapy.

So where does the term Swing Bed come from? This program offers a “smooth transition” for patients to change – or swing – their level of care from “acute”, such as having a joint replacement surgery, to convalescence, such as staying at Olivia Hospital for rehabilitation services including physical, occupational and speech therapy.

You should ask the doctors, nurses, and social-workers at the hospital where you are having surgery (or recovering from a serious illness) if this would be an option for you. Or you can call Olivia Hospital & Clinic Discharge Planner Bethany Block, RN or Olivia Hospital & Clinic Licensed Social Worker at 1-800-916-1836 for more information about insurance and therapy services. We are your home-area hospital and you should feel free to utilize all of the resources that are available to you.

Guidelines To Qualify

  • Follows an acute hospital stay of at least three days.
  • Requires skilled nursing services, or requires skilled therapy services.

Examples

Examples Of Conditions Benefitting From The Swing Bed Program

  • Recovery from Major Surgery, Joint Replacement, Vascular or Abdominal Procedures
  • Extended Hospitalization
  • Recovery from Major Accident or Stroke
  • Pain Management
  • Wounds Which are Not Healing or Need Special Care
  • Nutritional Therapy
  • IV Therapy
  • Rehabilitation Therapy: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy or Respiratory

Insurance Coverage

When the patient has recovered from their acute stay, but still needs some form of daily skilled nursing or skilled rehabilitation service, they could qualify for "Skilled Swing Bed" care under Medicare or "Transitional Care" under private insurance.

The Swing Bed Program is federally approved. Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance companies cover Swing Bed services for qualified patients. If you qualify and continue to make necessary progress determined by Medicare guidelines, you could receive up to twenty (20) days in full and up to one hundred (100) days with a co-payment and Medicare supplements will usually pay the deductible as long as Medicare continues coverage.

Currently, the average length of stay at Olivia Hospital is 8 to 9 days.

Patient Services

Services patients can receive from staying at Olivia Hospital in a swing bed room:

  • IV Fluids and Medications
  • Pain control medications
  • Sterile Dressing Changes
  • Care of Catheters, Feeding Tubes and Colostomy Training
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Speech Therapy
  • Registered Nursing Care
  • Routine Doctor Visits
  • Conferences about Your Progress and Future Plans

You should ask the doctors, nurses, and social-workers at the hospital where you are having surgery (or recovering from a serious illness) if this would be an option for you. Or you can call Olivia Hospital & Clinics Discharge Planners Bethany Block, RN or Olivia Hospital & Clinic Licensed Social Worker at 1-800-916-1836 for more information about insurance and therapy services. We are your home-area hospital and you should feel free to utilize all of the resources that are available to you.

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