Hospitals in Utah reduce costs, improve use of facilities.

A serious problem in rural areas is low occupancy for acute care hospital beds and a desperate need for additional long-term care beds. In Utah, this problem has been solved through the "swing bed" concept. Under this program, underutilized acute care beds can be used for long-term care patients. As a result, all beds are more fully utilized, and long-term care patients in rural areas do not have to be moved to cities.