Powell Valley Healthcare is going out into the community to tell people of a recovery option for people that allows them to stay local.

The rural swing bed program allows hospitals to transition patients from acute care to recovery while remaining in a hospital bed. It’s for patients not ready to be safely discharged home.

At April’s Powell Valley Hospital District board meeting, Nichole Gutierrez, inpatient services nursing director, told board members there were currently five swing beds in use.

“That’s a lot for us,” she said.

To qualify for a swing bed, patients must have a three-day hospital stay, have a certain level of health care need and insurance must cover swing beds. Medicare and Medicaid are also accepted.

Then, the hospital can provide care such as physical, occupational and speech therapy; skilled nursing services; care coordination and discharge planning; and dietician services.

According to the Rural Health Information Hub, rural hospitals have been able to keep serving their communities because swing bed programs often contribute to a positive operating margin. A local swing bed program also directly impacts rural residents: As a patient-centric post-acute care solution, rural patients who find themselves too well to stay in the urban hospital but still too sick to go back to their own homes can return to their rural community hospitals for further care.

“The key thing is getting patients to come back after they’ve gone out of town (for care), or to keep them in town,” Gutierrez said, adding “We’ve done a lot of marketing to increase swing bed usage. We created a brochure, we’ve gone to (Rocky Mountain) Manor, reached out to other health care providers so they understand … we’re thinking outside the box.”

They also published a video of the program to the hospital Facebook page and EMS now carries a quick reference magnet with information on the program.

The push to increase swing bed usage has come with help from the 5 Star Swing Bed Growth Academy, which is focused on achieving a breakthrough in swing bed census, quality and patient experience, according to a press release.

“Participation in this academy assists healthcare facilities in gaining an impressive community reputation for a quality process that is recognized for clinical excellence,” the release says. “Completion of the 5 Star Swing Bed Growth Academy marks outstanding progress towards improving the patient experience in the Swing Bed Program.”

Powell Valley Healthcare graduated the program May 3.

The 5 Star Swing Bed Growth Academy has been implemented in 10 different health care organizations spanning six states.

Powell hospital employees who worked through the program include Gutierrez, Arleen Campeau, Coby La Blue, Kinsey Baxter, Trisha Shorb, Sara Welling, Stacia Jenson and Joy Coulston.