Grantmakers in Aging Webinar Series:
Geriatric Emergency Departments – Past, Present, and Future Opportunities for Engagement
Monday, Oct 29, 2018
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
About the Webinar:
The Emergency Department (ED) is often the point of entry for older adults into the healthcare system, and plays a unique role in setting the trajectory of care for this rapidly growing and often vulnerable segment of the population. To that end, the ED is increasingly leveraged as the “front porch” bridging the community to health systems, and outpatient to inpatient care.
This growing demand for senior-specific care in the ED has been recognized as a top priority by national geriatric and emergency medicine organizations starting with the endorsement of the 2014 Geriatric ED guidelines that outline recommendations for optimal geriatric emergency care.
Additionally, The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) recently launched the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, organized around the four essentials — or 4Ms — of geriatric care: what Matters to the patient, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. GEDs are synergistic with the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative in that its goal is to enable emergency care redesign in an age-friendly manner incorporating all 4Ms. In partnership, JAHF and West Health are currently supporting efforts focused on education and training of an interdisciplinary GED workforce, expanding the evidence base on the impact of GEDs, and capacity building to help spread and sustain GEDs throughout the nation.
During this webinar, we will provide an overview of different ways in which organizations can get involved in helping improve ED care for older adults, specifically in areas related to education and training, research, and capacity building.