The senior friendly ED isn’t a place – rather, it’s a group of policies, protocols, and procedures that are implemented by an interdisciplinary team working together for senior-friendly care. In this section, you’ll find information relating to small steps that can make a big impact in the ED. In the resources section, look for downloads of policies, screening tools, and QI tools for use in your ED.
Numerous studies have shown that emergency departments (EDs) are less effective in dealing with the complex needs of vulnerable older people. This is due, at least in part, to the failure to provide ...Read More
Geriatric Emergency Medicine Guidelines After two years of consensus-based work, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), the American ...Read More
Maegan Bell, a trained physiotherapist, joined Mount Sinai Hospital team in 2012. The Acute Care for Elderly strategies was already implemented, which also involved the project of the Geriatric Emerg...Read More
The ED – a Place to Identify Abuse Older adults are commonly victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, with 5-10% of community-dwelling seniors experiencing elder mistreatment each yea...Read More
Accessibility Recommendations The following recommendations are based on accessibility requirements taken from the following sources: Belinda Parke and Kathleen Friesen, Code Plus: Physical Design Co...Read More
Here is an outline for a script that any health care provider can use in the ED to ensure an accurate medication history — before discharge or before admission: Introduction – Introduce self and prof...Read More
Be proactive. Gather as much information as possible prior to seeing the patient. Include primary medication histories, provincial database information, and medications vials/ lists. Prompt questions...Read More
Patient engagement Encourage and offer tools to patients and caregivers to help them manage their medications. Knowledge is the best medicine is a program that helps people take control of their heal...Read More
A. Staffing A physician champion or medical director with some focussed education specifically relevant to the provision of emergency care of older people should be identified by administration. An i...Read More
Why is medication reconciliation in older adults important? As people age, many develop a progressively complex mix of health conditions that require a growing number of medications to prevent the de...Read More
The Rationale Older patients often have non-specific presentations that raise complex medical and psychosocial questions relating to etiology and safe disposition. Falls and changes in behavior, such...Read More
Nana Asomaning has been working at Mount Sinai emergency department for the last 7 years. She was the second GEM nurse at in the Sinai ED. She is an important part of the evolution of Mount Sinai Sen...Read More