ED Geriatric Center of Excellence
Improving Coordination Across
the Continuum of Care for Seniors
In the year 2000, 13.1% of the population was over the age of 65. By 2030, that number is projected to grow to 20% -- or 70 million people. By these calculations, seniors will account for 25% of the population in the emergency department.
In an effort to stay ahead of this trend, Premier has begun implementing the ED Geriatric Center of Excellence, a geriatric emergency care program which focuses on improving coordination across the continuum of care for seniors.
This innovative program focuses on providing the right geriatric emergency care, to the right patient, at the right time, and in the right setting. It incorporates clinical guidelines and performance measures that reward the appropriate use of resources and enables quality improvement activities as the goal of performance measurement.
Goals of the Geriatric Emergency Department Model
- Demonstrate safe, effective and efficient quality care to our geriatric population seeking emergency services
- Provide a comprehensive follow-up process that will minimize unnecessary patient return visits to the ED
- Gain the reputation for high quality and efficient unscheduled geriatric care
- Increase knowledge base and performance of Emergency Department staff in relation to geriatric care
- Understand what is driving costs in the Emergency Department and decrease those costs
- Establish high profile market niche in geriatric emergency care for the hospital and ED
- Collaborate with both inpatient and outpatient resources to provide a continuum of care for the senior population
- Reduce medical/legal risk for both providers and hospital
- Create proactive stance for future reimbursement changes / ACOs