Swing Bed Program

BMH’s Swing Bed Program is designed for short-term rehabilitation after an acute hospital stay.

Swing Bed is a concept developed by Medicare in the 1970s to take advantage of underutilized hospital beds in rural communities where there are limited nursing home and skilled nursing facilities.

When patients no longer need to be hospitalized but could benefit from rehabilitation with 24-hour nursing coverage, BMH will transition (“swing”) rooms from inpatient acute care status to skilled nursing status.

This allows patients to stay in the hospital and receive the step-down care they need without having to relocate to a different care facility. The goal of the Swing Bed Program is to help patients conveniently and quickly reach their optimal level of independence after injury, illness, or surgery so that they can return home safely.

The Swing Bed Program is available to patients of BMH and patients whose initial acute stay may have been at another facility.

Program Benefits Include:

  • Allows patients to stay close to family and friends
  • Provides access to specialized, 24-hour care
  • An individualized treatment plan tailored to the patient’s personal situation
  • All the advantages of a hospital-based rehabilitation program
  • An interdisciplinary team of nurses, activity coordinators, nutrition experts, pharmacists, social workers, and physical therapists, working together to make sure the patient’s health goals are met

A consecutive, 3-day, acute-level hospital stay within 30 days of admission to Swing Bed is required. The patient must also need some form of skilled nursing or skilled rehabilitation services, which can only be provided in a skilled nursing facility.

Examples of skilled care include:

  • IV Therapy
  • Sterile Dressing Changes
  • Skin/Wound Care
  • Rehabilitative Therapies
  • Physical Therapy
  • Respiratory Therapy

For more information about the Swing Bed Program, contact Social Services at 304.369.1230 ext.6801.

Recent BMH News