Boarding of Elderly Patients
April 2008
Stations, the following is
a news announcement. Suggested lead in 3, 2, 1…
(INTRO)
Elderly patients who wait
six or more hours in the emergency department after
being admitted to the hospital are significantly less
likely to be discharged home, most likely because of
lingering mental confusion, according to research presented
at the International Conference on Emergency Medicine
in San Francisco this week.
Study author Dr. Sandra Schneider,
from the University of Rochester School of Medicine,
says long waits increased the probability that an elderly
patient would go to a nursing home, rather than home.
(SCHNEIDER)
BOARDING IS AN URGENT NATIONAL
PROBLEM FOR EMERGENCY PATIENTS OF ALL AGES. LONG WAITS
QUADRUPLE THE PROBABILITY THAT ELDERLY PATIENTS WILL
GO TO A NURSING HOME, INSTEAD OF RETURNING HOME, MOST
LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STRESS CAUSED
BY WAITING FOR AN INPATIENT BED. THE HARMFUL EFFECTS
OF THAT EXPERIENCE CAN BE VERY PROLONGED, AND THE LONG-TERM
IMPLICATIONS FOR ELDERLY PATIENTS ARE VERY ALARMING.
(CLOSE)
For more information about
emergency medical care, visit www.acep.org.
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