Arbor Health and Life Publications

For Paul Weed's recovery after back surgery, Arbor Health's Extended-Care Rehab was just what the patient ordered.

Weed, 82, of Randle, had been an outpatient physical therapy patient before his care team determined that his back issues required surgery. He was referred to the Seattle Spine Institute in March 2025 for the procedure.

"They fused my back from my chest to my tailbone," Weed recalls.

After surgery, Weed was an inpatient at Swedish Hospital. When Swedish planned to discharge him, Weed found himself in that in-between stage where he no longer needed acute care, but he wasn't well enough to take care of himself at home. Medicare refers to this level of care as "swing bed." At Arbor Health, it's called "Extended-Care Rehab."

Care focused on you

Arbor Health—Morton Hospital has more than a fancy name for this level of care. In fact, the hospital has taken it on as a specialty. With on-site physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, wound care and a physician available 24/7, Arbor Health's Extended-Care Rehab patients see a quicker recovery time than typically experienced in nursing homes. And while nursing homes may have one nurse for every 20 patients, Arbor Health staffs enough nurses to ensure that each provides care to only two to three patients at a time.

"They were going to put me in a nursing home up there in Seattle," Weed says of his initial discharge plan at Swedish. "But I like the hospital here." He and his family requested that he be transferred to Arbor Health instead. And there he stayed from March 25 through April 6.

"I've never had better care," Weed says. "I attribute that to the staff. They are very professional, and they are uplifting. The staff always have a smile on their face."

Physical Therapist Katrine Dahn, PT, DPT, says that Weed was a good patient. "We worked on the strength of his core and legs and his balance," she explains. "He really did great with his therapy. He worked very hard."

Weed sums up his experience at Arbor Health's Extended-Care Rehab in his straight-talking manner with a twinkle in his eye: "The meals were good and the cure was good."

Categories: Extended-Care Rehab