“CCMH has had a Swing Bed program for a long time. It’s a program that fits with patients as they transition to a different level of care.”
That’s Brooke Schwery, Care Transitions and Utilization Review Nurse, at CCMH.
Schwery explains the Swing Bed program is not necessarily for every hospital patient.
“The patients who qualify for the Swing Bed program are those who have been in the hospital and their condition is stable and need on-going care. These patients could potentially qualify for a skilled level of stay. Even though it’s our hospital with the same room, same nurses, and same quality of care, the Swing Bed program can provide additional rehabilitation services like physical, occupational or speech therapy, or antibiotic treatments, just to name a few possibilities.”
Many times the Swing Bed program is an alternative to going to a nursing home for the same level of care.
“A hospital-based Swing Bed program is your transition in care. It’s the, ‘I’m not quite safe enough to go home because I need more rehab’ program. The Swing Bed program is designed to get you to feel comfortable and safe enough to get you back home.”
Schwery is quick to point out the benefits of a Swing Bed program.
“There are several different benefits to the patient. To examine just one scenario, Swing Bed works well when you are hospitalized in the city, but you are from the Denison area. Swing Bed allows you to come back to CCMH and still get the care needed without having to move multiple times to different facilities or stay in the city. You can transition here with us, receive needed therapy, and when you are ready, transition back to your own home. That’s the ultimate goal – the patient gets to return home. “
Qualifying for the Swing Bed program requires the assistance of the insurance company.
“Qualifying for the program really depends on your insurance coverage. That’s where it gets a little bit tricky. Most insurance companies might want you to have a two or three-acute night’s stay in a hospital. The patient will also need an authorization for the program. This requires the insurance company to approve the program, so they know it’s a justifiable cost. Once you are approved, there is usually a set amount of days where Swing Bed is completely paid for. If the stay extends beyond that time period, you might have a copay but if you have a secondary insurance you might not. The process is sometimes vague depending upon the insurance provider and the policy provisions for the patient.”
Schwery says patients need to be talking to their healthcare providers about the program.
“As a patient, before you go in for a hip surgery or knee surgery, be thinking about that next step in care once the surgery is completed. If you break a bone, or have other types of unplanned surgery, it’s not too late to have that discussion with your provider during your initial recovery. You have to plan ahead. Have your healthcare provider reach out to us and have them see if this is something that you qualify for. You can always call your insurance company and see if that’s an option they offer.”
If someone is interested in the Swing Bed program or they think it might be a good fit for them after surgery, who do they contact?
“When you’re in the city, typically you have a social worker, or a utilization review nurse at that facility contact me. You can ask the hospital staff, or they might bring it up to you. Regardless, have them either get a hold of me at CCMH or just send their referral and we can get you here.”
Care conferences and communication are the keys to making the Swing Bed program work smoothly.
“What’s nice about that care conference is that we meet once a week. We have a meeting between the patient, the patient’s family, providers, and nurses. We discuss progress and goals. Most of the time, the end goal is to get the patient back to whatever their previous living environment was. Regardless of whether its back home with a spouse, or in assisted living or independent living, the goal is to get you back to whatever you were doing before. There’s a lot of communication between all of the parties involved. The patient’s family is always encouraged to be involved in the process.”
Schwery encourages those interested in knowing more about the Swing Bed program to contact her at 712-265-2500.
