NY – A new trend in emergency rooms has been established to give the elderly the highest level of care possible.
Patients at Mt. Sinai Hospital told CBS 2′s John Slattery on Wednesday that the emergency room has grown by leaps and bounds over the last year and a half. It was designed as a special “geriatric emergency room” for baby boomers who have entered their mid-60s.
“It’s very different from what it was a year and a half ago…in a very good way,” said Susan Wells.
The hospital commissioned a mural on the ceiling with artificial skylights. The skylights were designed to change with the time of day.
“It actually prevents sundowning. When they wake up, they know if it’s day time or night-time, which encourages good sleep,” said Dr. Kevin Baumlin.
Other changes that were made to the Mt. Sinai Emergency Room include non-skid floors, wall railings, quiet monitors, and iPads designed to give patients a touch of technology.
“It’s an innovation that allows patients to see and talk with a nurse, ask for food or medicine, or play music,” explained Baumlin.
A driving factor behind the upgrades was the importance of customer satisfaction surveys. In all, 25 percent of emergency room patients are over 65, and the results of the surveys play a role in determining how much Medicare money hospitals will receive.
The Mt. Sinai ER was modeled after the one at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.
{CBS 2/Matzav.com Newscenter}
As any doctor will tell you, caring for older (60+) is different than caring for younger people – that’s why there are gerontologists and geriatricians. Older people’s bodies are different.
And older people have a different profile for causes for emergency room visits. For instance, trauma visits for younger people are far more likely to involve car accidents, sports accidents or violence. For older people it’s far more likely to involve in-home falls, bone fractures from osteoporosis, etc. For heart attacks, the type also differs with age.
For younger people, drug reactions are more likely to involve illegal drugs or alcohol. For older people, it’s more likely a bad combination of prescription meds, or the patient reacting to medications differently because they’re older.
Just as we have separate services for children (pediatrics) it makes sense to have separate services for the older. It will save lives and also expense, because people will get treated properly quickly enough to avoid complications.
I think it’s a great idea! Disclaimer: I’m over 60, and for me this is noge’a b’davar.