Methodist Hospital Is First in State With Geriatric ED Accreditation

OMAHA – An estimated 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day. Nationally, patients 65 and older account for about 15 percent of emergency room visits. At Methodist Hospital’s Emergency Department in 2019, that number was higher at nearly 40 percent, averaging about 31 people a day.

Continuing a commitment to caring for the community's older adults, Methodist Hospital became the first and only hospital in Nebraska to be awarded Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Methodist Hospital’s Emergency Department has achieved the silver standard – Level 2 GEDA accreditation, one of only 12 in the United States who now have the designation.

“Earning this certification was the result of much hard work on the part of many since 2018,” said Sue Rohlfs, service executive for Patient Care Administration. “The accreditation further demonstrates Methodist’s commitment to preserving the dignity and independence of older adults. Our team is continually striving to provide the highest standards of care for the aging population in our communities. We want the older adults who visit our Emergency Department to know they will be cared for and treated with respect and dignity.”

In order to obtain a Level 2 designation, an emergency department must incorporate a checklist of best practices, provide interdisciplinary geriatric education and have geriatric-appropriate equipment and supplies available. Areas of review include staffing, equipment and supplies, education, quality improvement, policies and procedures, outcome measures, and physical environment.

In addition to the recent accreditation, Methodist is an Age-Friendly Health System, which puts the patient and their wishes first by addressing the 4Ms: what matters, medications, mentation and mobility. The 4Ms were initially implemented on the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at Methodist Hospital and at the Methodist Physicians Clinic HealthWest and Indian Hills locations. The initiative will continue to expand throughout the system over the next year.

In yet another initiative, Methodist Hospital conducted a Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) pilot program in 2016. It began with one GRN seeing older adult Emergency Department patients one day a week. The program has grown and has additional GRNs helping patients every weekday with their unique needs.