HealthPartners earns quality award for innovation in patient care

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) recently honored three HealthPartners hospitals – Amery Hospital, Hudson Hospital and Westfields Hospital – with the 2025 General Medical Surgical Critical Access Hospital Award for their swing bed optimization efforts. This recognition honors hospitals that are taking innovative steps to improve patient care and experience.

The term “swing bed” refers to a hospital bed that serves more than one purpose. The swing bed program offers patients the option to continue recovering from an injury, illness or surgery in a hospital rather than in a transitional care facility or nursing home.

“It allows for a more seamless transition after inpatient care,” said Kristy Yaeger, vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at Hudson Hospital. “Patients benefit from access to amenities and the expertise of our hospital physicians, nurses and therapists. For many, it also means they can complete their recovery closer to home.”

To help more patients take advantage of the swing bed program, HealthPartners colleagues streamlined the referral and review process and developed educational materials that highlight program benefits. Swing bed referrals have increased by 91% because of these improvements.

Yaeger pointed out that although this award recognizes Amery, Hudson and Westfields hospitals, none of this would have been possible without contributions from colleagues at all eight HealthPartners hospitals. “It's a great example of how our hospitals work together as a system to provide a broad scope of care to our patients,” she said.

HealthPartners accepted the award Feb. 27 at WHA’s 2025 Quality and Patient Safety Awards dinner in Madison, Wis. The project team has also been invited to present a poster on swing bed optimization at the Health Care Quality Poster Showcase in April at the Wisconsin State Capitol Rotunda.

Photo: Left to right: Melissa Kuisle, care management and social work operations manager; Kallie Kickhafer, director of clinical operations in the St. Croix Valley; Kristy Yaeger, VP of patient services and CNO at Hudson Hospital; Hannah Anderson, quality improvement consultant; and Jessie Zitur, social worker at Hudson Hospital.