Swing Bed Program

Recover Faster, Closer to Home
What is a Swing Bed?
Swing Beds/Transitional Care are dedicated beds for skilled nursing care, allowing patients to continue medical treatment after discharge from an acute care facility. Patients receive professional care, including physical therapy, and are closer to their homes or family during treatment and therapies. The Swing Bed program increases Medicare patient’s access to post-acute skilled nursing facility care and maximizes the efficiency of operations by meeting unpredictable demands for patient care.
Swing Beds offer patients, family members, and care providers a unique opportunity to enhance and strengthen the healing process. Swing Beds allow improvements to the quality of care for patients in rural areas as they can return home for continued treatments:
- Swing Beds allow family and friends to be more closely involved in rehabilitation and recovery.
- Admissions are less traumatic and threatening to patients, which is a psychological and emotional relief.
- Swing Beds allow the patient to return to the community, people, and support systems in which they are comfortable.
- Swing Bed admissions offer hope for each patient’s continued recovery and return to independent and functional living.
How it Works
After an injury or illness requiring hospitalization, it is sometimes necessary to have skilled care or rehabilitation to be ready to return home. Our Swing Bed Program allows you to recover faster, closer to home, and while being cared for by our expert care team in a hospital setting.
Our goal is to maximize your health so you can get back to your life quickly while avoiding unnecessary readmission to the hospital.
What is Covered
- Medicare pays the full cost for the first twenty (20) days.
- Medicare pays 80% between days 21-100, and secondary or supplement will pay 20% ( as long as Medicare continues coverage).
- Other medical insurance may cover your swing bed stay, or a patient may pay with private funds.
Who Qualifies
For Medicare to cover your swing bed stay, specific qualifying medical criteria must be met.
- Minimum three (3) night consecutive hospital stay in last thirty (30) days
- Require either skilled nursing or skilled therapy services
Skilled Rehabilitative Services
- Gait, mobility, and activity evaluation and training
- Therapeutic exercises
- Therapeutic modalities
- Physical therapy evaluation and treatment
Skilled Nursing Services
- Intravenous/Intramuscular injections
- Insertion, irrigation, and replacement of suprapubic catheters (SPC)
- Central venous line/peripheral line (PIV) care and maintenance
- Nasogastric tube, gastrostomy, jejunostomy feedings
- Naso-pharyngeal and tracheotomy aspiration
- Treatment of acute decubitus ulcers
- Bowel and bladder program institution and supervision
- Colostomy /ileostomy care in the early postoperative stage
- Teaching and training activities
- Wound and dressing care
We Are Here to Help
Staff is here to help with your needs. We follow a long tradition of hospital care dating back to 1907. We are a premier facility in Southern Colorado and are here to help with your needs. Rio Grande Hospital offers skilled nursing services, rehabilitation services, and ancillary services to all patients in the Swing Bed Program, including:
- Physical Therapy
- In-house Pharmacy
- Our friendly and skilled doctors and nurses are available 24 hours a Day
- Dietitian available for consult
- Certified Wound Care nurses and physicians on-site
- Dental Services
Contact Us Today!
Grace Sandoval
Care Coordinator
swingbed@riograndehospital.net
Phone: 719-657-3273
Fax: 719-657-4169

Ellen Lane, is our Chief Nursing Officer & Chief Operating Officer. Ellen worked 14 years at St. Mary Corwin all areas of nursing and as the Trauma Coordinator. She has worked the past 5 years in a Critical Access Hospital as CNO. She is faculty for ACLS, PALS, TNCC, ENPC, and has been a presenter at many of the trauma symposiums in the state.
Mission: With a smile and a helping hand, we provide quality care and service to our communities.
Vision: We will distinguish ourselves as the trusted healthcare destination.
We will provide compassionate healthcare and advocate wellness through innovative access, preventive medicine,
and collaborative partnerships within our diverse community.
OUR LOCATIONS
Rio Grande Hospital
310 County Road 14
Del Norte, CO 81132
Tel: 719-657-2510
Open: 24/7
Creede Family Practice
802 Rio Grande
Creede, CO 81130
Tel: 719-658-0929
Rio Grande
Hospital Clinic
310C County Road 14
Del Norte, CO 81132
Tel: 719-657-2418
Monte Vista Medical Clinic & Pharmacy
1033 2nd Avenue
Monte Vista, CO 81144
Tel: 719-852-8827
Pharmacy Tel: 719-628-0533
Rio Grande Hospital Clinic at South Fork
52 Jackson Street
South Fork, CO 81154
Tel: 719-873-5494