Pflug bill would help Snoqualmie Valley Hospital by granting flexibility to meet long-term care needs  

March 12, 2009

OLYMPIA…Thanks to a bill from Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, Snoqualmie Valley Hospital is one of two hospitals now positioned to have added flexibility to serve local senior citizens and others by allowing it to designate up to 25 of its beds for long-term care without a certificate of need.  

Senate Bill 5423 would allow hospitals in cities or towns without nursing homes to designate a certain number of beds as long-term nursing care beds and be reimbursed for those beds. It is designed to provide flexibility to meet patient and community needs.  

“Snoqualmie Valley Hospital intends to use this added flexibility to develop a geriatric psychiatric service,” Pflug said. “They would like to collaborate with other local long-term care providers, such as Mount Si transitional nursing center in North Bend, to develop and deliver a complementary program of long-term health care services to the community.” 

The “swing bed” concept is made possible under a federal law that designates certain, mostly rural hospitals as “critical access” hospitals. This qualifies them for enhanced reimbursements that would help sustain their operations.   

“I’m pleased to help the Snoqualmie Hospital District,” Pflug said. “Since it is also partially supported by local tax dollars, I want to do anything I can to help residents receive care in their communities rather than be forced to travel to other facilities in the region far from home and family.” 

The bill allows Snoqualmie Valley Hospital the flexibility to designate up to 15 of its in-patient beds as “swing beds” this year, with the remainder after July 1, 2010.  

SB 5423 now moves to the House of Representatives. If passed it would become law this summer. 

Sen. Pflug represents the 5th Legislative District, which includes North Bend, Maple Valley, Issaquah, Sammamish, Fall City, Snoqualmie and
parts of rural King County.

For more information contact Pat Albright
at (360) 786-7519 or albright.pat@leg.wa.gov^.