Creating a Geriatric Emergency Department: A Practical Guide

by John Schumacher, Don Melady

Overview

Globally, EDs face new challenges as the world's population ages. Visits from older people are predicted to rise for the next 20 years. This practical and accessible book provides essential guidance on assessing the ED care of older patients - and improving it. It assists ED teams to implement changes tailored to their unique environments, providing guidance across all settings regardless of size, location or resources. Experience- and evidence-based elements combine to guide best practices for older patient flow, staff and patient satisfaction, and improving patient health outcomes. The book features proven ideas for creating a geriatric ED such as specific staff training, modifying job roles, implementing new care processes, and adapting physical spaces. An invaluable resource for practising ED clinicians, leaders, administrators, educators, and system change leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009017701
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/03/2022
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

John G. Schumacher is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Doctoral Program in Gerontology, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He holds a secondary appointment as an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

Don Melady is Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is the Director of the Geriatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship in the Schwartz-Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Making the case for a geriatric emergency department; 2. Starting a geriatric emergency department; 3. Overcoming resistance: What to do with 'Yeah, But...'; 4. You: An approach to your older ED patients; 5. People: Adding staffing and training; 6. Processes: Implementing protocols and policies; 7. Place: Addressing the physical environment; 8. Quality improvement in the geriatric emergency department: Getting started; 9. Launching your geriatric emergency department: From first steps to accreditation; Appendix.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Belinda Setters, MD, MS, FACP, AGSF (Robley Rex VA Medical Center)
Description: This is a great, small book that focuses on helping practitioners understand the key features of a geriatric-friendly emergency department (ED) and how to approach achieving just that. It starts by defining the goal and takes the readers through how to get buy-in from administration and implement a program.
Purpose: The purpose is to help practitioners and healthcare staff understand what a geriatric ED is, why it is an added benefit to their hospital or health system, and how to implement a program. It achieves its goal and does so in an easy-to-read, well-organized format. It is a needed addition to the field and its compact size and easy-to-read format make it desirable for busy practitioners.
Audience: The audience is practicing emergency physicians, other practitioners, healthcare advocates, and others interested in improving care for older adults in the ED setting. This book speaks to its audience well and achieves its goals nicely. The authors are appropriate experts in the field.
Features: This book starts out exploring the features of a geriatric-friendly ED and explains why they are important for the care of older adults. It is a smaller text due to the keen focus of the authors. The picture quality is mediocre and illustrations are not common, but, as neither are necessary for the topic, this really is a minor observation that does not distract from the book.
Assessment: This is a valuable, small text that addresses how to implement a geriatric emergency department in health systems. It is well written, easily portable due to its smaller size, and easy to read.

Doody's Review Service

'A great primer for developing a Geriatric Emergency Department. An easy read with tips and pearls from national experts. Chock full of guidance and examples from leading GEDs and hospitals around the world. Anyone thinking about or even considering implementing a Geriatric ED program should read this book first! You will be inspired by this book and glad you read it.' Ula Hwang, MD, MPH, FACEP Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine

'It’s a privilege to care for those who once cared for us. Geriatric Emergency Medicine is a core of all our emergency departments (EDs) and for decades we have worked hard to make these more age appropriate, friendlier environments for children. Drs Schumacher and Melady ask us all to do the same for older people, offering practical tips, international examples as well as simple solutions that we have no excuse but to follow. For me, it’s the relationships that we form with older people and their families by simply asking them what they are worried about or what they would like that brings me joy every day I work in the ED.' Carolyn Hullick, Emergency Physician, Belmont Hospital, Australia Chair, Geriatric Emergency Medicine Special Interest Group, International Federation of Emergency Medicine Clinical Director, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare

'This is a great, small book that focuses on helping practitioners understand the key features of a geriatric-friendly emergency department …' Belinda Setters, Doody's Reviews

From the Publisher