San Diego county is the first to receive geriatric emergency department accreditation for all of its 18 hospitals from the American College of Emergency Physicians, county officials announced late last week.
The accreditation, according to ACEP, ensures standardized approaches to care, optimal transitions including follow-up care and quality improvements that include physical enhancements to the environment. Nurses, case managers and social workers are trained in and dedicated to emergency care for older adults.
Trained staff, non-skid floors
One patient’s geriatric ED experience, as described by the San Diego Union-Tribune, included regular check-ins by staff, a private, soundproofed room, non-skid floors, a bathroom with higher toilet seats and a sink design that reduced water spills to the floor.
The county has a large and growing population of older adults, the Union-Tribune noted. In fact, elderly patients account for nearly one-third of local emergency room visits, according to a county spokesperson. The accredited geriatric EDs and their staff members are equipped to address issues specific to eldercare, such as frailty and mobility problems and dementias, and to manage the use of multiple medications for chronic medical conditions, he said.
Nationally, only about 15% of seniors have access to this type of care, county officials noted. ACEP has so far accredited 344 geriatric emergency rooms across the United States, the Union-Tribune reported.
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