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.