Leading medical societies, health systems collaborate to improve geriatric emergency care

Four national medical societies and nine leading health systems announced today they have established a new national geriatric emergency department collaborative (GEDC) to help improve emergency care for our nation's older adults.

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), American Geriatrics Society (AGS), Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) will work with a team of experts in geriatric emergency care to support health systems across the United States in identifying, studying and sharing best practices in emergency care for seniors, with about half of all older adults visiting the emergency department (ED) each year.

The four societies previously developed expert guidelines on geriatric emergency care in 2014. Those guidelines and new educational activities will help partners at Aurora Health Care System (Wis.), Emory University/Grady Memorial Hospital (Ga.), Magee Women's Hospital (Pa.), Mount Sinai (N.Y.), UC San Diego Health (Calif.), Northwestern (Ill.), St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center (N.J.), University of Chicago (Ill.), and University of North Carolina (N.C.) to promote a variety of proven techniques for improving care for older patients—from coordinating expertise among various professionals to ensuring that older people can transition from the hospital to outpatient settings (like homes or community-based settings) whenever and wherever safely possible.

The research collaborative is supported by a grant of $3 million from The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, two national non-profit organizations focused on improving care for us all as we age.

"Today, 20 million seniors visit our nation's emergency departments," said Shelley Lyford, president and CEO of the Gary and Mary West Health Institute. "With the number of older adults growing rapidly as a result of our aging demographic, there is a critical need for more senior-focused care. This pioneering collaborative is an urgent prescription for innovation and shared learning, which will benefit our nation's seniors in emergency rooms across the country."

Added Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of The John A. Hartford Foundation: "This dynamic initiative is committed to ensuring that age-friendly best practices in theory become best practices in practice—advancing large-scale changes in clinical care and ED policies to improve the health, safety, and independence of older adults."

The GEDC will continue to add more health centers and partners, contributing to an alliance of national stakeholders who will help promote national adoption of geriatric emergency care best practices.

Provided by American Geriatrics Society