Keeping Healthy: Little Falls Hospital's Swing Bed Program

Selma Valis is originally from Lithuania.  She moved to Herkimer after her husband passed away.  She was faring well on her own until she had a serious fall. When she could no longer could heal at home, she found herself in little falls hospital's swing bed program.  And like so many people, after needing medical attention, or having surgery, Selma needed others around her to help in recovery.  Since falling, she's a patient in the swing bed program for about 5 weeks. 

"A lot of time when a patient is in a hospital and has had surgery, you know you get kind of de-conditioned quickly," says Occupational Therapist assistant Diane Stowell, "a lot of our folks are elderly, live alone, they have more complicated cases where it's not easy for them to return home without some services set up for them."

And those services vary depending on the patient - whether it be medical equipment needs, wound care, physical therapy - or even personal care services - the swing bed program has patients covered. And as both and Stowell and Selma say - the program is more like a family than a hospital program.

"It's beautiful, the help is wonderful, everybody is so nice. I can't say enough about it,"  says Selma.

And while selma loves the people and program, the goal for all patients is to eventually return home.

"I like it here to but, I got to go home," says Selma.