Discharge to Swing Bed or Skilled Nursing Facility: Who Goes Where.

摘要

Swing beds are one option for post-acute skilled care in rural communities, and they are more likely to be the only option in the most rural areas.1 These transitional care beds allow a patient to be discharged from an acute hospital stay but remain in the hospital for skilled after care. Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are another option for post-acute care when facility-based (rather than home-based) care is needed. Swing beds in small rural hospitals were authorized to allow flexibility in providing post-acute care, particularly in areas where hospital volume is low and options for post-acute care are limited. The North Carolina Rural Health Research Center has undertaken a series of studies to better understand swing bed utilization and cost.