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Swing Bed Program

What is Swing Bed?

Medicare permits certain rural hospitals to use its beds as needed, either for acute care or skilled care, hence the term “swing bed,” as physicians may “swing” patients from one level of care to another while staying in the same facility. Be aware that swing bed programs differ from one facility to another. If you find yourself needing time to recover from a surgery, illness or injury, our swing bed program would allow you to recover in a hospital setting, versus a nursing home. In the hospital, you would have easy access to nursing care and therapies. Our goal is to assist you or your loved one in becoming as independent as possible before discharge.

Our Mission

Munising Memorial Hospital and Health Services strives to be the provider of choice for primary medical and hospital care for the residents of Alger County. With unsurpassed personal and professional integrity, our employees and practitioners will provide the highest level of quality care within our resources.

Therapy Benefits

We utilize a caring and compassionate approached blended with high quality therapy to return our clients to the safest, highest function level possible.

  • Access to therapy services—PT, OT and Speech
  • Comprehensive discharge planning involving family and caregivers
  • Individualized therapy available for all clients
  • Collaboration and communication with your medical team

Medicare

Medicare will cover up to 20 days in full and up to an additional 80 days with a patient copay, as long as the criteria are met. Medicare supplements will usually pay the deductible as long as Medicare continues coverage. Your individual coverage will depend on how long you meet the criteria. The average length of stay in a swing bed is around 15 days.

The Swing Bed Coordinator is available to assist patients and families with any questions regarding Medicare payment, rehab criteria being met and length of stay.

Your Care Team

  • Family Physician | Physician Assistant
  • Case Manager
  • Physical Therapist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Speech Therapist
  • Nursing Team
  • Dietician
  • Pharmacist

Clothing

Patients are welcome to wear their own clothes appropriate for therapy. We ask that a family member provide laundry service. Patients may bring small personal items from home to make their stay more comfortable. Please do not bring items of value. Limited space is available to store wallets, money or jewelry if necessary.

Activities

Patients participate in a variety of daily activities to enhance and help achieve independence. Patients are given a list of available activities and daily reminders of activities. If there are activities or hobbies that you enjoy, we encourage you to bring them in.

Swing Bed Criteria

You will find that Medicare and most insurance companies cover swing bed programs usually

under the “Skilled Nursing Facility” benefit.

Specific criteria that must be met to qualify for payment of the swing bed program:

  • Swing bed stay must be related to a hospital stay.
  • The doctor must determine a need for daily skilled care (Examples: IV therapy, skin and would care, physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy).
  • Patient must be willing to participate in the daily skilled care.
  • A patient must be hospitalized as an Acute Care Patient for a minimum of 3 consecutive days. Observations days do not count towards these days. It must be within 30 days of the hospital stay.
  • Admissions can be from Munising Memorial Hospital but may also be from other hospitals such as UP Health System.
  • Medicare patients must have Part A benefits.

Dylan Koenig, PA-C

Physician Care

Physicians will oversee your care in the swing bed program. You will be seen by the physician on the day of admission if transferring from an outside facility, and then as needed throughout your stay. Physician visits will be billed separately to your insurance carrier.