Skilled Care
Helping our patients confidently returning to their best life possible.
Sometimes a patient is ready to leave acute hospital care, but is not well enough to return home. Certain skilled nursing services (or Swing Beds) offer a level of hospitalized care to help a patient through the transition.
At Hansen Family Hospital, skilled patients are cared for in the Acute Care wing of the hospital by our staff of health care professionals.
There are a couple of ways a patient can utilize Skilled Care at Hansen Family Hospital. A Discharge Planner from another facility may assist in transferring a patient to Hansen Family Hospital. Or, in some cases, a patient may stay in the same hospital bed moving from one level of care to another.
Skilled patients at Hansen Family Hospital receive our high quality of care, with better staff-to-patient ratios than larger facilities. Best of all, patients can recover while they are closer to families, friends, and loved ones.
Services
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance all have their own guidelines regarding skilled care. This makes it important to define a patient's needs and make sure they are receiving the appropriate level of care to qualify for the appropriate coverage.
Skilled care 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 for qualifying procedures
- Care of decubitus ulcers
- Instructions on ostomy or stoma care
Admissions Criteria
Medicare's qualifications for admission to skilled care include:
- Three-day (consecutive) acute level of care stay within the past 30 days
- Physician referral for necessary daily skilled service related to hospitalization
- Medicare Part A (Hospital) Benefit or available days remaining in current benefit period.
Who Needs Skilled Care Services?
Hansen Family Hospital has the advantage of offering individualized, convenient care with a personal touch.
Patients often choose skilled care/ swing bed services at Hansen Family Hospital because they can be closer to home and more convenient for the family and friends involved in their care.
Types of patients that are candidates for Skilled Care/ Swing Bed include, but are not limited to:
- 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 will be seen by a provider daily Monday through Friday and as needed on the weekend.
For more information on Skilled Care, Swing Bed, or Self Pay Care at Hansen Family Hospital, contact us at 641-648-7004 or bensondf@mercyhealth.com