UNC Health Care recently held a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Boot Camp to generate ideas for improving emergency care for elderly adults. The boot camp was the result of UNC Health Care’s participation in the Geriatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative, a national collaborative of health-care systems seeking to produce better outcomes for these patients.
by Zach Read
Studies show that the first visit to the Emergency Department (ED) by an older adult in the United States often marks the start of a downward health trend for that person, leading to return trips to the ED, hospital admissions, or death.
“Nationally, geriatric emergency medicine patients do not do as well as they should because the systems and EDs in place do not meet their needs,” said UNC emergency and geriatric medicine physician Kevin Biese. “For example, these patients often do not receive adequate care coordination after the ED visit or have critical access to home health. As a country, we can do so much better.”
Please read the full article on UNC Health Care.
