Less than ten years ago, the Big Sandy Medical Center saw record lows in patient census. With only eleven people living here, there was a dire need to figure out how to get more folks in the door. Goals were set, big changes were made, and now the facility is bursting at the seams! For the first time, Big Sandy Medical Center has a wait list for those who desire to come live in the facility. What does that mean for you and your loved ones? Simply, you cannot move in with us tomorrow. You may not be able to move in next month, or even in the next few months. While you may come into the building and see physical beds open, they may not be beds available for long term care stays.
At this time, the Big Sandy Medical Center is licensed for 25 beds. That means at the very max capacity, only 25 people can be staying overnight in our building. As we are a hospital, we must reserve space for those people who are acutely ill and need medical care. Someone with pneumonia, severe infections, or dehydration for example. They would come into the hospital, stay for a few days to receive medical care, and then recover enough to go home. We also need to have a few beds available for patients who need a bit of rehab before going back to their homes. This is called an acute swing bed and may be a six to 12 week stay. And finally, we have to consider the number of qualified staff available to provide safe care for the patients. Big Sandy Medical Center has always prided itself on the staff to patient ratio as safe ratios provide the best patient care. That means we cannot bring on more patients than we are adequately staffed for. Depending on the staffing mix and patient mix we have at any given time, this may also affect when a bed becomes available. At this time, the ideal is to have 16 patients in our ‘long-term care’ and the remaining beds to be utilized for more acutely ill patients. Acutely ill means either inpatient stays, 3 days or less, or swing bed stays, usually several weeks. It is vital to maintain a level of flexibility with the spaces available to ensure that men and women are not sharing bathrooms, those who want a private room have access to one, and those on hospice have space to spend those last precious moments with their loved one in private.
That being said, it is important that you are prepared in your search for a place to live out the final years of your/your loved one’s life. First, if you anticipate needing a bed, it is best to get on the wait list sooner rather than later. Establish care with one of our providers at the clinic, if you haven’t already. And begin your financial preparations. When a bed becomes available, the Director of Nurses begins calling from the top of the respective male or female bed wait list. If the person in the number one slot doesn’t need the bed right now, the next person on the list is called, and so forth until someone takes the bed. If you’re not ready when the bed is available, you simply deny for now and remain on the list in anticipation of the next opening. This of course means you’re taking the chance that there will be another opening when you do really need it. If you are ready, or don’t want to gamble with the next spot, you will then be asked to send your medical records for review by our medical staff and you will meet with the financial team to clarify any questions on payment for the stay.
Financial preparations can take weeks, sometimes months so having preparations completed is vital. Medicare does not usually pay for a long-term care stay, so that is not a viable option for most people. Those with nursing home insurance need to review any stipulations set forth in that policy. Long term care Medicaid is different than regular Medicaid and comes with a laundry list of requirements. If none of those options are available, the private
pay rate for a room is about $8000 a month (price always subject to change). Having your financial ducks in a row prior to needing a bed is a great help in ensuring the transition from home to BSMC goes quickly and smoothly.
This is quite a change from just a few years ago. At one time, someone could call up and say, “I want to move in next week” and there would be a place for them. That is no longer the case and likely will not change in the foreseeable future. While no one ever really knows what tomorrow will bring, the estimated time on the wait list is over two years. It may benefit you to be on multiple facility wait lists. Being admitted to a facility elsewhere does not mean you cannot come here when a bed opens, but it can provide you the care you need prior to having room for you here at the Medical Center. The most important part is that you are loved and cared for in a way that keeps you safe. We continue to thank the people of Big Sandy for your patronage and helping us remain one of the last few independently owned facilities in Montana.
