Methodist Hospital ACE Unit Works to Help Older Patients Stay Active

Exercise sessions are one of the special features of Methodist Hospital’s Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit, a 32-bed ward that follows a national model aimed at preventing complications in seniors and helping them maintain independence.

For hospitals, balancing the need to keep patients safe from injurious falls while still preserving their mobility can be challenging.

If patients don’t keep moving, they can get weaker. That’s a particular problem with older patients, who may be weaker to start with. For every day an older adult is in a hospital bed, it can take them three to four days to get back to their previous condition.

Omaha World-Herald: Methodist Hospital unit pushes 'mobility' and 'movement' to help older patients stay active