Inpatient Care
Acute Care
Acute Care is provided for those patients needing immediate and temporary care, or for stabilization prior to discharge or transfer to another facility. Patients admitted to acute care may be considered “medical” or “observation” admissions.
Patients admitted for observation may require more time for diagnosing conditions than is appropriate for the Emergency Department. An example might involve a patient presenting with chest pain.
Admitted medical/surgical patients need more than observation care for conditions, such as pneumonia, and may require a longer hospital stay to recover.
Swing Bed Program
A patient may be admitted to the Swing Bed program if he or she has had an acute stay in the hospital for a period of three or more days and is shown to meet the criteria for skilled level nursing care. Swing Bed patients may need time to regain their strength and/or physical therapy prior to going home.
Each patient admitted for Swing Bed services must be under the direct supervision of a staff physician. Examples of Swing Bed care may involve post-surgical patients who have had knee or hip replacement.
A patient may be admitted from another facility after their medical information has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate staff. Certain requirements must be met before approval is given.
Questions regarding the Swing Bed program can be addressed by Social Services; please call 304-364-1028.