Ensure a Safe Return Home with the Swing Bed Program

During an inpatient stay, every patient looks forward to the day they can return home. For some, however, it’s not as easy as getting out of bed and walking out the front door after a few goodbyes. Occasionally, patients need additional support to ensure a safe return home. The Swing Bed Program at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics does exactly that with a suite of skilled services designed to build the confidence and strength needed for a successful discharge and an improved quality of life.

What Is the Swing Bed Program?

The Swing Bed Program is a covered stay for patients who qualify for skilled services, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy, IV antibiotics, and skilled wound care. Designed to bridge the gap between hospitalization and home, the program provides comprehensive, short-term rehabilitation to rebuild the strength needed for certain patients to live independently after discharge.

Patients are enrolled in the Swing Bed Program upon evaluation by a case manager, who determines whether the patient would benefit from additional recovery or therapy services. The case manager will send a referral to a team of nursing, therapy, physician, case management, and pharmacy providers, who review the referral and determine whether the patient has a skilled need. Unfortunately, patients receiving active chemotherapy, dialysis, or total parenteral nutrition are not eligible.

While enrolled in the Swing Bed Program, patients are treated by a team of healthcare professionals that can include physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, nutritionists, respiratory therapists, and behavioral health specialists. Hospitalists oversee interdepartmental rounds and care six days a week. This team also routinely meets with the patient and their family or caregiver — who are encouraged to visit the patient — to address any concerns and allow all parties to ask questions to create the safest discharge plan possible. Additionally, hospital staff will provide purposeful activities for the patient throughout the day, which may include playing games, completing puzzles, or simply going for walks. Comprehensive discharge planning begins as soon as the patient is admitted and may include coordination of necessary post-hospital resources, equipment, and in-home safety evaluations.

Benefits of the Swing Bed Program

Providing much-needed skilled care close to home allows family and friends to visit the patient and ensures a quicker return home than if the patient received additional treatment out of town. An inpatient stay at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics is not required for admission to its Swing Bed program—patients may be enrolled even if they were being treated at another medical facility. This is a particular benefit to residents of Macoupin County who might have been inpatients at a facility farther away from home and want to continue their recovery closer to family and friends!

The team approach employed by the Swing Bed team at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics ensures patients receive skilled care from various medical specialists and providers. Additionally, a personalized care plan means addressing all the patient’s specific needs while keeping an open dialogue between providers, the patient, and their loved ones to address any concerns about the present or the future. Patients also gain access to specialized equipment they may not have access to anywhere else and may continue to receive outpatient care after discharge.

Go home safely and confidently. Learn more about the Swing Bed Program at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics or contact Becky Foiles, LCSW at 217-854-3141 ext. 272 or rfoiles@cahcare.com for more information.

Posted in Healthy Habits Brief on Mar 06, 2025