When you are hospitalized, your care team helps you to get well so you can get back to your everyday life. If your recovery is on track, but you still need some therapies or care before you’re ready to go home, the Swing Bed Program might be right for you.

Providence St. Joseph Medical Center offers “swing bed” care as an alternative to going to a nursing home or residential rehab facility. If you meet certain guidelines, you can stay at our hospital while your level of care “swings,” or changes from acute nursing care to skilled rehabilitation.

During your admission, you will have a consistent staff of doctors, nurses, and therapists guiding your care.

The Swing Bed Program helps you make the transition from hospital to home. This short-stay program can last a few days or a few weeks. If you’re in our Swing Bed Program, you receive your care while in a hospital room. The only thing that changes is the level or type of care.

We offer physical rehabilitation with therapies and medications designed to support your healing in the best possible way. You may benefit from this program after major surgery and while you are treated for conditions that cause weakness or require extended therapy such as IV medication or strengthening after a stroke.

Your therapists help you to build strength and make goals with you to recover movement. If needed, your team will help you learn to use assistive medical devices such as walkers, wheelchairs and safety equipment; or medical devices that help with vision, speech or hearing disorders. Our goal is to help you be as self-sufficient as possible when you return home.

Your care team supports your doctor’s treatment plan. Services you may receive include:

• Exercise and endurance training
• Heat and cold therapy
• IV therapy
• Joint mobility therapy
• Nutrition and dietary support
• Occupational therapy for activities of daily living
• Physical therapy
• Respiratory therapy
• Speech-language therapy
• Wound care

If you are hospitalized at a distant location, this program may enable you to transfer to our hospital so you can be closer to your home and family while you recover.

Who Qualifies

To qualify for swing bed services, you must meet the following care requirements:

• Meet current insurance guidelines for admission
• Have a daily skilled care need such as rehabilitative therapy or IV antibiotics
• Be willing to work with therapists and staff every day while admitted

Some private insurance plans cover swing bed services. You may also combine private insurance and Medicare coverage for swing bed care. Your social worker, case manager or other specialists can help you determine whether you qualify under federal guidelines for Medicare coverage.

During your recovery, your care team may include these and other specialists:

• Occupational therapists
• Orthopedists
• Physical therapists
• Radiologists
• Registered nurses
• Respiratory therapists
• Social workers
• Speech-language therapists