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ACE Geriatric Care
By Carolyn Murray, CNBC
April 21, 2009
Some hospitals have specialty care units for older patients, called Acute Care for Elders, or ACE. Health care providers in an ACE unit work as a team that may include a geriatrician, clinical nurse specialist, pharmacist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, dietitian and pastoral care provider.
In the traditional hospital setting, health care providers meet individually with a patient and must make phone calls or leave messages to contact another staff member providing care for the patient. In the ACE unit, team members meet every day to discuss the care and needs of the patient. The face to face coordination enables health care providers to immediately respond to each other’s questions and concerns regarding the patient’s health and recovery.
The goal of ACE units is to improve health care for elderly patients, keep them mentally stimulated and physically active and reduce the risk for functional decline. In one study, older patients who received care in similar units has less functional decline and were more likely to go back to their own homes after leaving the hospital.
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