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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Swing bed services

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
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
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
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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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
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Scope of Services Offered by Critical Access Hospitals: Results of the 2004 National CAH Survey
Examines how Critical Access Hospital (CAH) services have changed over time, based on 2000, 2002, and 2004 survey data. Discusses the role of network affiliations in service changes and reasons for reported service expansions.
Author(s): David Hartley, Stephenie Loux
Date: 03/2005
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Rural Implications of Medicare's Post-Acute Care Transfer Payment Policy
Reports results of a study that examines the behavioral and financial impacts of a change in Medicare payment to pay acute-care hospital cases in 10 DRGs as transfers instead of discharges when the patient is discharged to a targeted post-acute care (PAC) provider after a short inpatient stay. Also projects the likely financial impact of extending the policy to cover additional DRGs or discharges to swing beds.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman
Date: 06/2004
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Customizable Communications Toolkit
Provides a catalog of internal and external communications resources to support rural hospitals and clinics. Includes customizable print and digital resources, scripts, and talking points to promote community trust, preventive screenings, swing bed services, telehealth, and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Sponsoring organizations: Legato Healthcare Marketing, National Rural Health Resource Center
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State Operations Manual Appendix W - Survey Protocol, Regulations and Interpretive Guidelines for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Swing-Beds in CAHs
Provides details from the State Operations Manual on swing beds for Critical Access Hospitals.
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Medicare Learning Network: Swing Bed Services
Provides information about the requirements Critical Access Hospitals must meet in order to enter into a swing bed agreement under which they can use beds, as needed, to provide either acute or Skilled Nursing Facility care.
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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