The Washington Post reported an interesting healthcare development, recently, in an article on hospitals that are beginning to set up emergency rooms specifically designed for seniors.
Many parents and families know the benefits of having a local children’s ER available to help treat a sick kid, but few of us have the good fortune to count an ER specializing in senior needs as part of the community. 
This seems to be changing, however, as more hospitals contemplate, and move ahead with plans to establish such facilities.
Some of the issues motivating the creation of emergency rooms that cater specifically to seniors include:
- Reducing the amount of equipment and tools for care that are unlikely to be utilized in health care situations involving seniors, such as items used to treat gun shot wounds, or car crash trauma
- Providing facilities with mobility features seniors need and want, such as handrails on all of the walls, nonskid flooring, and pressure sensitive mattresses
- Staffing and training ER workers to provide treatment according to the unique needs of seniors, with a focus on issues like cognitive impairment, depression, and dementia
Additionally, the current numbers associated with senior visits to the emergency room, and the expectation that the numbers will grow, create an increasing demand for care facilities focused on seniors.
The Washington Post article indicates that seniors make 17 million ER visits per year, and in less than 20 years, 1 in 5 Americans will be seniors.
While large cities may be able to afford senior emergency room wings at major hospitals, smaller towns have to be creative in meeting the demand for care.
At Provision Living's GreenTree community in West Lafayette, Indiana, head nurse Sandra Beale explained that the costs associated with emergency room care are high enough to drive residents to focus on meeting health care needs via primary physicians.
"Sometimes we have residents who need to go to the ER, but what we focus on is working with residents and their families to identify primary care providers who specialize in geriatric medicine, and luckily in our area there are several such doctors," said Beale.
The costs associated with preventative, geriatric care from a primary physician are substantially lower than emergency room treatment, as Beale points out.
In some of the blogs discussing this subject the point is made that, for instance, urinary tract infections can sometimes cause symptoms commonly associated with dementia. This is an example of the type of health situation a geriatric specialist, whether practicing via general office hours, or at an emergency room, would likely consider in the course of treatment.
At St. Anthony's Hospital, in St. Louis, MO, Nursing Director for the Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments, Rita Srum, commented that the idea of senior-focused ER care is a good one, in that it recognizes "that geriatric patients have special needs, and it addresses issues such as the fact that lab values may alter quickly, many times causing physical and mental status changes."
Srum added that gerontologists are an important component of treatment for the senior population.
This interesting news on innovative developments for senior health care is something we intend to stay tuned to over the next several months, and we look forward to bringing insight and updates on the topic as they are available.
(Image Courtesy of p200eric on Flickr)
