An emergency unit being planned for UC San Diego’s Thornton Hospital will be the first in the region to focus solely on seniors, a group whose sheer numbers and complex medical needs are expected to strain available resources as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.
Geriatric emergency departments, physical manifestations of America’s rapidly advancing average age, have been popping up across the nation as hospitals seek a more efficient and dignified way to serve patients age 65 and older.
An $11.8 million grant from the Gary and Mary West Foundation is making the university’s project possible and signals a new, deeper geriatrics research collaboration between UC San Diego and the West Health Institute, which has recently tightened its focus on aging issues.
Shelley Lyford, West’s chief executive, said the muftifaceted nonprofit — which has research, philanthropy and policy divisions — sees aging issues as an area that requires urgent action on multiple fronts.
“We know that 10,000 people a day are turning 65, and we believe that this is not a time for us to stand by and wait,” Lyford said.
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