Transitional care nurses in the geriatric emergency department reduce risk of inpatient admissions, says Mt. Sinai research supported by West Health
Geriatric patients seen by transitional care nurses in the emergency department (ED) are less likely to be admitted to the hospital, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. These findings show that interventions initiated during an older patient’s arrival through the ED can have a significant impact on care.
According to the Emergency Care Research Institute, geriatric adults (65 and older) account for up to 25 percent of all ED visits, but their needs may not be met in a general ED. Programs like the Geriatric Emergency Department Innovations in Care through Workforce, Informatics, and Structural Enhancements (GEDI WISE) have been developed to meet these challenges. It’s a model used at three large urban hospitals: Mount Sinai Health System in New York City; St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey; and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
West Health Institute provided funding support for this research.