Sumter resident Billy Geddings broke his leg while taking care of his late wife last year.
“We would’ve been married 60 years this year,” Geddings said. “She passed away right after Christmas.”
Not long after, Geddings wound up in the hospital himself.
“I had spent about a year being right by her side because she was sick,” he said. “I wasn’t really taking care of myself and then I broke my leg.”
The 81 year old said doctors told him he might not walk again. But with the help of the Clarendon Health System Swing Bed Short Term Rehab Unit, Geddings was able to walk for his family Friday.
“I was thinking about my wife, Betty, while I was doing it,” Geddings said with a tear in his eyes. “Throughout all of this, I’ve been thinking about her. She wouldn’t have wanted me to just sit around.”
Geddings said before he came to the Swing Bed unit – which is located at Clarendon Memorial Hospital but operates as a separate unit from the hospital, according to coordinator Stacy Mosier – he was “in really bad shape.”
“I was really weak, I couldn’t swallow,” he said.
“You were in the ICU for a good bit, too, weren’t you?” Mosier asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I was on a ventilator. I couldn’t eat and had a (feeding) tube.”
“Now, with his treatment here, he’s bypassed all of that,” Mosier said. “We’ve got him back doing things that doctors at other facilities told him he wouldn’t be able to do again.”
Mosier said the Swing Bed unit – which is about a year old – is a short term facility for folks who are ready for discharge from the hospital, but who may not be able to go home quite yet.
“Specifically, it’s for patients who no longer need the acute level of care following an illness, stroke, injury or surgery,” Mosier said. “They’re not quite physically able to return home but will need more time to heal and regain their strength in a supportive environment.”
Mosier said she likens it to a “nursing facility.”
“Our patients live here – we have 16 beds – and we handle their physical, speech, respiratory and occupational therapies,” she said. “We have a dietitian and also discharge planning for when our patients will eventually be able to go home.”
Geddings has been with the Swing Bed unit for about two-and-a-half months, Mosier said.
“If we could keep Mr. Billy forever, we would,” she said. “He’s just a really good person and he really means a lot to the staff and the other patients.”
Mosier said aside from therapy and rest, residents are also given recreational opportunities.
“The socializing is as much of a help as any of the physical therapies,” Mosier said. “That’s an important part of recovery from a major illness or injury.”
Mosier said the benefits of the Swing Bed unit include “24-hour personalized nursing care;
a low patient-to-nurse ratio; and a home-like atmosphere with amenities of a private room, telephone, cable and wireless Internet.”
Thomas King, the first patient for the unit, said he experienced several rehabilitation facilities during his recovery from a recent illness.
“The care and attention I received (and the CHS Swing Bed unit) was far beyond my expectations,” he said. “The care and concern for my rehabilitation and well-being can only be described as unsurpassed. The unit is a cut above the rest.”
Geddings agreed. He found the unit while in another hospital, specifically through Mosier’s father, the Rev. Gene Mosier, pastor of Concord Baptist Church.
“My father is Mr. Billy’s pastor, and he knew about the unit through me,” Mosier said. “Mr. Billy was wanting a rehab facility, and the family asked if we would look at taking him.”
Mosier said patients wanting to come to the facility go through a qualifying process.
“They have to have a three-night qualifying stay and then have to go through a series of registrations,” Mosier said. “Once that’s approved, they’re accepted into the unit.”
Mosier said overall stays vary “anywhere from seven days to longer.”
“It depends on the needs of the patient,” she said. “It also depends on the patient. Mr. Billy is a real go-getter. He has a strong will and determination. When we got him he was so weak and in such bad shape, and now he’s back to walking.”
Geddings said, despite the hard work, he’s enjoyed his stay in the unit.
“They are about as kind as they can be,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be no other place.”
