"CEDARS SINAI FRAILTY PROJECT"
Los Angeles, California, USA.
Program Description
"At Cedars-Sinai, where more than half the patients in the medical and surgical wards are 65 or older, one such effort is dubbed the 'frailty project.' Within 24 hours, nurses assess elderly patients for their risk of complications such as falls, bedsores and delirium. Then a nurse, social worker, pharmacist and physician assess the most vulnerable patients and make an action plan to help them."
-articles.latimes.com
"Nurses will always find time to conduct explorations that improve patient care. How could we not? Our entire practice is about improving the patient's experience."
-Bernice Coleman, PhD, RN - Cedars-Sinai source: cedars-sinai.edu
The goal of the “Cedars Sinai Frailty Project” is to reduce preventable medical errors and readmissions of elderly patients. If elderly are treated correctly the first time, they most likely will not be readmitted into the hospital and will be able to return home on a permanent basis.
A medical staff team including a doctor, nurse, social worker and pharmacist get together to discuss a patient plan upon hospital admission so that preventative elder care can be discussed.
Nursing staff help prevent elderly patients from being re admitted into the hospital
-Fall prevention- through yellow bands are placed on elderly patients
-Reducing Bedsores- elderly patients are helped to move around as often as possible
-To reduce confusion- elderly are reminded of where they are and provided uninterrupted sleep
-Looking at elderly medications and adjusting them if necessary to fit the preventative care plan
Cedars-Sinai nurse scientists are responsible for research studies at the on integrating frailty care into acute hospital workflow.
source:articles.latimes.com