Our geriatric patients want to be heard about what matters most to them. Geriatric emergency care is focused on making these a priority. That is the heart of this work.
Kristie R. Foster, MSN, RN, GERO-BCAlice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD), a member of Dartmouth Health, has achieved Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department (GED) accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians. This makes APD the first critical access hospital in the United States to hold this distinction. This accreditation program was created to recognize emergency departments that uphold the highest standards of care for older adults.
The voluntary GED program includes three levels similar to trauma center designations and provides specific criteria and goals for emergency clinicians and administrators to meet. The accreditation process includes more than two dozen best practices for geriatric care and the level of GED accreditation achieved depends upon how many of these best practices an emergency department is able to meet. A Level 1 emergency department (ED) must incorporate many of these best practices, along with providing inter-disciplinary geriatric education and having appropriate geriatric equipment and supplies available.
“We established our GED program out of a deep and ongoing commitment to providing specialized emergency care for older adults, who make up a significant portion of our patient population,” said Susan E. Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, president and CEO of APD. “Our ED works tirelessly to improve patient outcomes for these patients, addressing common geriatric issues and ensuring optimal transitions of care to other settings. Level 1 GED accreditation is an important example of APD’s continued dedication to the health and wellbeing of our entire community.”
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), also a member of Dartmouth Health, received Level 1 GED accreditation in 2021.
“Healthcare is ever changing, with some of the greatest advancements ever seen in modern medicine, but we must be cognizant of not losing the ‘care’ in healthcare,” said Kristie R. Foster, MSN, RN, GERO-BC. “Each one of us deserves to be treated with kindness and compassion in addition to all the latest and greatest medication and treatment modalities. Our geriatric patients want to be heard about what matters most to them. Geriatric emergency care is focused on making these a priority. That is the heart of this work.”
“Dartmouth Health has been proud to support APD during its journey towards Level 1 GED accreditation, and we’re delighted that one of our members now provides even more access to age-friendly care for our older patients, when they need it, where they need it,” said Scott W. Rodi, MD, MPH, FACEP, chair of the department of emergency medicine at DHMC and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “This is another example of Dartmouth Health’s commitment to geriatric care throughout our region.”
For more information on the GED Accreditation Program, visit acep.org/geda.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.