Swing bed is a term used by healthcare professionals for a Medicare program designed to provide additional inpatient care to those needing extra time to heal or strengthen inside a skilled nursing setting before returning home. This term came from the simple idea that the patient will “swing”, or transition, from inpatient acute care, through the program, and return home to the same level of independence prior to entering the hospital.

Recovery Care is the new, easier to understand terminology for this same process. Recovery Care is often used for patients who have had surgery such as hip or other joint replacements. In addition to major surgery,a lengthy illness can also result in the need for Recovery Care.

If you have a major surgery elsewhere, you can request a transfer for Recovery Care at Paynesville Area Health Care System to be close to home, friends and family. Those patients who are already in the Paynesville Hospital simply transition from Acute Care to Recovery Care while still in the hospital.

A typical Recovery Care stay averages 7-14 days, but varies with each patient. During your recovery period, members from Rehabilitation Services apply therapeutic exercises, endurance training, joint mobilization and/ or wound care. Social Work and Pharmacy team members review medical records and prescriptions, working side by side with nursing and medical providers to ensure a smooth transition and a normal level of function when the time is right to go home.

Our Recovery Care program makes it possible for you to recover from a surgery, or illness at Paynesville Area Health Care System in a comfortable, caring setting.