Post-Acute Care – “Swing Bed”
Sometimes, patients recover enough to no longer need a high level of acute care but they aren’t quite ready to be discharged. “Swing Bed” is 24-hour skilled nursing care at The Medical Center at Albany that also has the benefit of rehabilitation therapies to help patients transition to their home or a long term care facility. Swing bed can also be used to help recover from surgery, illness or an accident.
With swing bed, the patient stays in one hospital location before going home. Not being moved from one location to another gives them time to heal and adjust before returning to everyday life.
The Medical Center at Albany provides care through a team approach using highly-trained therapists and skilled nursing staff to achieve the best patient outcome. We help our patients reach their highest level of function and self-care. We want every patient to be as independent as possible.
Depending on the patient’s needs, the team could include:
- Dietitians
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Physical Therapists
- Physicians
- Respiratory Therapists
WHO QUALIFIES?
Post-acute care is designed for patients who would benefit from additional medical care and/or rehabilitation in an acute care setting. In most cases, these are patients who have already been in the hospital for at least three nights.
Patients who qualify need one or more of these services as part of Post-Acute Care and Comprehensive Physical Rehabilitation:
- IV therapy
- Nutritional therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Respiratory therapy
- Skin/wound care
- Sterile dressing changes
Finally, patients in the post-acute care program must be willing to take part in an active medical and physical rehabilitation program.
