After a critical access hospital in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., redesignated all 25 acute care beds to a “swing” status, nurses have raised patient safety concerns, according to an April 19 report from the Cascadia Daily News.
In March, Washington state approved PeaceHealth United General Medical Center’s plan to expand its number of swing beds from 15 to 25, according to the Daily News.
The swing bed designation allows the hospital to “swing” billing from acute care services to post-acute skilled nursing services. Three nurses at United General Medical Center, who spoke with the news outlet on the condition of anonymity, said they are concerned the transition to swing beds will disrupt healthcare access to local residents.
The nurses said the change could prompt United General to prioritize cases with higher reimbursement rates from CMS, such as uninsured patients with long-term care needs, thus restricting bed availability for local patients.
United General is part of PeaceHealth, a Vancouver, Wash.-based system with nine medical centers across Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
A PeaceHealth spokesperson told Becker’s the expansion of swing beds “will not hamper access for local patients,” adding that United General’s swing census has hovered between 12 and 14 patients.
“There is sufficient acute care capacity remaining to meet the local demands of acute patients typically admitted through United General’s emergency department,” the spokesperson said. “The redesignation enables additional patients to transition from higher-acuity facilities like St. Joseph [Medical Center in Bellingham, Wash.], preserving acute care capacity for emergencies and higher-acuity cases. Patient safety is our top priority, and care decisions are thoughtfully coordinated to meet patient needs.”
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