Transitional Swing Bed Care

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Caring for patients like family means providing a smooth transition from hospital to home.

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Skilled Nursing 

After an illness, stroke, injury or surgery, you may be getting better but still needs some additional skilled care before returning to a home environment.

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Skilled nursing is a level of hospitalization care for patients who require certain services. Skilled nursing services (Swing Beds) are extremely beneficial when a patient is ready to leave the acute care level of a hospital stay, but is not yet well enough to return home.

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At Phillips County Hospital, skilled nursing patients are cared for in the inpatient acute care area of the hospital by our staff of health care professionals.

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If you are a patient coming from another facility, a discharge planner from that facility will assist in transferring you to Phillips County Hospital for skilled nursing services. In some cases, if you are already a patient at Phillips County Hospital and need further care, you may stay in the same hospital bed but change your level of care to skilled nursing service.

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As a skilled nursing patient at Phillips County Hospital, you will receive our high-quality of care, with better staff-to-patient ratios than larger facilities or nursing homes. Patients can recover while they are closer to family, friends, and loved ones.

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Services

Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance all have their own guidelines regarding skilled nursing care. This makes it important to define your needs to make sure you are receiving the appropriate level of care to qualify for the appropriate coverage.

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Skilled nursing services may include, but are not limited to:

• Rehabilitation services such as that following strokes and joint replacements (may include physical, occupational and speech therapies)

• Frequent laboratory monitoring

• IV medications or medications requiring monitoring by professional staff

• Tube feedings and nutritional stabilization

• Wound management/sterile dressing changes

• Qualifying bowel and bladder care

• Respiratory therapy

• Care of decubitus ulcers

• Instructions in ostomy or stoma care

• Terminal care for patients needing pain control or skilled supportive care.
   

Admission Criteria

Medicare’s qualifications for admission to skilled nursing include:

• Three-day (consecutive) acute level of care stay within the past 30 days

• A physician referral for necessary daily skilled service related to hospitalization

• Medicare Part A (Hospital) Benefit or available days remaining in the current benefit period.

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Who Needs Skilled Nursing Services?

Phillips County Hospital has the advantage of offering individualized, convenient care with a personal touch.

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Patients often choose skilled nursing/ swing bed services at Phillips County Hospital because they can be closer to home and more convenient for the family and friends involved in their care.

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Types of patients that are candidates for Skilled Nursing/Swing Bed include, but are not limited to:

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• Joint replacements or other orthopedic surgery patients needing frequent physical therapy.

• Stroke patients who need to improve their level of functioning with continued therapy.

• Cardiac patients needing skilled activity programs following a heart attack or acute episode of congestive heart failure.

• Patients requiring wound management/ sterile dressing changes

• Patients with long-term illnesses such as cancer or immune deficiency disease.

• Patients recovering from illnesses requiring continued IV therapy.

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For more information on Swing Bed, Skilled Nursing, and recovery options close to home at Phillips County Hospital, contact our Swing Bed Coordinator Michelle Brown at 785-540-4912.