Well, here’s a switch:
One of our NASW-NJ interns, an avid NPR listener, told us about this news item: a new emergency department at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md - an ER built with older adults in mind. You can find the article at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100823874
Only infants go to the emergency department at a higher rate than people 75 and older, and many hospitals have set up separate emergency rooms just for kids. Now, Holy Cross Hospital has set up an ER specifically for patients 65 and older.
The article describes how every aspect of the separate hospital emergency room for elderly patients fits their needs. They even selected paint color which ensured that older patients would be able to see their way better around the offices and enjoy a color scheme more pleasant to their aging eyes. Holy Cross's ER for aging patients employs doctors and nurses trained in geriatrics. They also have a full-time geriatric social worker, a position not usually found in a regular emergency room. With the statistics in the U.S. all pointing to the impending explosion in the ranks of the elderly as baby boomers reach their senior years, emergency room programs like the one at Holy Cross will be critical components of care in the future.
Do you know of programs in New Jersey that serve the aging in creative ways? What part do you see social work playing in meeting the needs of the elderly? If you're a geriatric social worker, how is your agency or health care setting meeting the needs of elderly patients or clients?
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1 comment:
I am overjoyed that hospitals are acknowledging that the population of 65+ people is higher than ever and they are in need of medical services. There is a need for high-quality care for seniors and I'm glad a large hospital like Holy Name understands.
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