Swing Bed care the right choice for Friendship man

Swing Bed care the right choice for Friendship man

For 73-year-old Larry Swaziek, there's no place like home. It's where he feels comfortable, it's where he knows people, and it's where he's grateful that he could receive long-term care following an alarming incident earlier this year that left him unable to walk.

For three weeks, Larry took advantage of the Swing Bedprogram at Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship Hospital. It's a Medicare-covered, hospital-based program for patients who no longer need inpatient, acute care services but are not ready to go home and still require some rehabilitation and/or nursing services.

It allowed Larry the flexibility to have surgery at Emplify Health by Gundersen's flagship hospital in La Crosse, then recover at his local hospital just blocks from his home in Friendship.

A sudden loss of leg strength

At one point as Larry went about his day on the Fourth of July, he realized that he couldn't stand up. Then early the next morning while in bed, he experienced a pain he hadn't felt before, and he needed help getting out because his knees were weak. Finally, he got himself ready for the day, and as he was going to leave the house, he fell in his garage.

He didn't think much of it but decided that because he had a doctor's appointment a couple days later, he'd ask about the episode then. But he didn't make it until that appointment before falling again, and this time, he couldn't get up.

So, his wife called an ambulance to help him, and the following morning, he was taken to Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship Hospital, then urgently transferred to the La Crosse Hospital. That's when it was determined Larry had sepsis in several of his joints.

What followed involved removing parts of each of the joints (several of which had been replaced already), cleaning out the fluid and replacing what was taken out. After that, Larry had his shoulder redone, then later, his knees. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Larry was released from the La Crosse Hospital after a week's stay, but he was still bedridden at that point, so he went back to the Friendship Hospital for a Swing Bed stay.

"I'm so fortunate that we have this facility here," Larry said. "That was a real plus for me, being close to home."

Care close to home

The advantage of Swing Bed care is that patients can remain in the same hospital room and see the same nurses and other staff they've grown familiar with. The only thing that changes is the type of care they'll receive - more focused on the work that it'll take to prepare them for the transition home.

"The care doesn't really change, just our goal for that patient changes," said May Oligney, medical/surgical manager at Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship Hospital. "Then we reevaluate a safe disposition."

To be eligible for Swing Bed care, the following criteria must be met:

• A patient must have Medicare A or other hospital-based insurance with skilled care benefits.
• The stay must be related to an acute inpatient hospital stay.
• Hospitalization must be authorized by insurance with skilled care benefits.
• The provider must conclude there is a need for daily skilled care.
• A patient must be willing to participate in the care plan designed by you and your care team.
• A patient must show progress toward documented goals.

The number of swing beds the hospital can accept varies from day to day, but Oligney said she works hard to accommodate patients when necessary because it's important to provide that kind of care close to where they - and their support system - live.

In some cases, Swing Bed can be a patient's only option, depending on how severe their needs are following their acute care stay. Most of those who utilize Swing Bed care are older, but the program is available to anyone - particularly those who, for whatever reason, may not be candidates for care elsewhere.

"If we don't accept them, they're going to be that much further away from their family," Oligney said. "And visiting is a big part of the healing process, holistically, and we want that."

'I'm just so glad we had this here'

During Larry's stay, he did his physical and occupational therapy daily with his local care providers - people he'd seen before and was comfortable with following previous surgeries. Before long, he was up and moving around again.

"I think my wife actually cried because I could walk," Larry said. "It's a pretty significant change from what it was just a few days prior."

He credits his care team for being there for him as he worked to regain his mobility.

"The nurses were just great, they were super," Larry said. "Very helpful, knowledgeable and here 24 hours a day."

He added, "Finally, I'm getting to the point where my knees are starting to forget I had surgery."

It's a program Larry will use again if the need ever arises.

"If you're in this area, it's so convenient and so nice," he said. "I'd recommend it to anybody. I'm just so glad we had this here."

For more information about Swing Bed care at Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship Hospital, call (608) 339-8410.