People who are 65 years of age and older are among the fastest growing segment of emergency room visitors in the country, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control this patient demographic has grown by more than 18% since 1995. A number that is expected to grow considerably as 10,000 baby boomers are now reaching the retirement age, every day. This has proved to be challenging for many emergency rooms, which now find themselves having to adapt to the unique needs of an aging population.
Trinity Health Systems opened the nation’s first senior-friendly emergency room in 2008 and many others hospitals have imitated this approach since. The purpose of the redesign is to decrease confusion and agitation in older patients. Room lights are softer, floors have an added non-skid layer, and larger clocks are placed throughout the building. Some providers are even furnishing rooms with walkers and pressure reducing mattresses that can alert nurses when a patient has gotten out of bed.
Physicians are also beginning to realize that many patients who frequent the E.R. do so because of underlying complications that contribute to chronic conditions. Chief among these underlying issues is dementia. Many of those with memory-impairing conditions begin to experience deteriorating health, as a result of unintentionally skipping medications, malnutrition, depression, or a variety of other actions that negatively affect health. Thus, assessing a patient’s cognitive abilities has become a priority in senior friendly emergency rooms.
However, the focus on identifying patients with memory impairment has created a divisive dialogue. While some believe that identifying seniors with memory impairment in an E.R. setting has many potential benefits, others argue that the focus should instead be directed towards improving memory care diagnosis in primary care; as these conditions often times progress over time and should be identified well before other complications begin to persist. Critics also argue that the overhaul conflicts with national efforts to reduce emergency room visits altogether.
Regardless, however, most agree that limiting the shock and stress of emergency room visits will go a long way towards providing better care for America’s aging population. The expectation of the emergency room overhaul is to reduce the use of harmful medications and repeat visits. Both are problems that have greatly contributed to the soaring cost of operating an emergency unit.
