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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Post-acute care

New Models for Rural Post-Acute Care: Critical Access Hospitals Optimize Patient Outcomes, Value, and Financial Stability
Reports on the Transitional and Ventilator Care Model, which provided transitional Ventilator Care and increased utilization of swing beds in Critical Access Hospitals, helping them expand their service offerings, reduce readmissions, and improve their finances. Addresses the program's initial success and expansion to 11 CAHs in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Requires name, email address, and organization information to download.
Author(s): Mark Lindsay, Karl Palmer, Terry Hill, et al.
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
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Discharge to Swing Bed or Skilled Nursing Facility: Who Goes Where?
Examines health conditions of patients discharged from rural Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to swing beds and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Randy K. Randolph, Mark Holmes
Date: 02/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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"Living With a Ball and Chain": The Experience of Stroke for Individuals and Their Caregivers in Rural Appalachian Kentucky
Describes a qualitative study based on interviews with 13 stroke survivors and 12 caregivers in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Analyzes the transcripts for qualitative data giving insight into the experience of stroke victims from the time of onset, through their treatment in the healthcare system, to their reintegration into their home and community.
Author(s): Megan M. Danzl, Elizabeth G. Hunter, Sarah Campbell, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 29(4), 368-382
Date: 10/2013
Type: Document
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Why Do Some Critical Access Hospitals Close Their Skilled Nursing Facility Services While Others Retain Them?
Examines the factors related to the operation of skilled nursing services by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and specifically the factors related to closure of skilled nursing units by some CAHs and the continued provision of these services by others. Addresses the impact of swing beds.
Author(s): John A. Gale, Zachariah T. Croll, Andrew F. Coburn, Walter R. Gregg
Date: 11/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Why Use Swing Beds? Conversations with Hospital Administrators and Staff
Includes interviews of hospital administrators and staff about the use of swing beds, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Addresses the role of swing beds in patient care, swing bed volume and financial considerations, swing beds in the context of all community post-acute skilled care, and swing beds as a benefit for community residents.
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Andrea Radford
Date: 04/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Effect of Swing Bed Use on Medicare Average Daily Cost and Reimbursement in Critical Access Hospitals
Estimates the average net cost to Medicare of a skilled nursing facility swing day by simulating the elimination of all Medicare skilled nursing facility swing bed days in Critical Access Hospitals in 2009.
Author(s): Kristin L. Reiter, George M. Holmes, George H. Pink, Victoria A. Freeman
Date: 12/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Trends in Skilled Nursing Facility and Swing Bed Use in Rural Areas Following the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003
Provides descriptive evidence on current trends in the availability and use of swing beds and skilled nursing facility services in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings Brief
Author(s): Kristin L. Reiter, Victoria A. Freeman
Date: 04/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Provision of Long Term Care Services by Critical Access Hospitals: Are Things Changing?
Describes trends in access to post-acute and long-term care services in rural areas. Discusses the role Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) play and how their role could change.
Author(s): Melanie Race, John Gale, Andrew Coburn
Date: 03/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Rural Issues Related to Bundled Payments for Acute Care Episodes
Describes challenges to implementing bundled payments in rural settings and discusses potential contracting and reimbursement strategies to address these challenges.
Author(s): Robert Town, Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, et al.
Date: 06/2009
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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Trends in Skilled Nursing and Swing-bed Use in Rural Areas, 1996-2003
Examines trends in the delivery of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in rural areas during a period of dramatic change in Medicare payments. Focuses on the role of rural hospitals in providing SNF services, as a number of regulatory changes occurred between 1998 and 2002 that could potentially influence hospital provision of skilled nursing care.
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Jeongyoung Park, Ann Howard, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 12/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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