A Guide to Geriatric Syndromes, Term Paper Example

Introduction

The concept of Golden Age Hospital (GHA) must be addressed from the needs of current seniors throughout the local community who require ongoing care and treatment for their needs, which change as they grow older. Therefore, it is important to identify the resources that are required to ensure that organizational needs are met and accomplished with the new hospital program as it evolves. Existing research must be identified and evaluated in order to accomplish these directives and to demonstrate the importance of creating an environment that will effectively adapt to the needs of seniors and provide a framework for success that will reach this population within the selected communities.

Analysis

Many seniors face critical health risks that require ongoing attention and treatment. However, greater awareness of these concerns is not well known and requires ongoing care and treatment in order to meet the goals and expectations of this population. As seniors grow older, they may experience a number of important changes, such as malnutrition, a weakened bladder state, difficulties in sleeping, limited swallowing capabilities, delirium, dementia, problems with hearing and vision, osteoporosis, fainting, falls, gait concerns, and pressure ulcers (HealthinAging.org, 2012). Furthermore, chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension are likely to occur that require ongoing attention and focus. All conditions that have been identified require a thorough understanding of the challenges that seniors face as they experience a higher number of conditions that impact their wellbeing. In order to promote a greater quality of life, regardless of the health conditions that arise, seniors must be able to expand their physical activities whenever possible, alleviate stress, consume a healthy diet, obtain sufficient amounts of calcium and vitamin D, improve urinary tract health by using the bathroom on a regular basis, and improve mental activities as much as possible (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

A number of hospital-based models for seniors have emerged throughout the United States and provide a greater understanding and acknowledgement of the specific needs of seniors. These include Holy Cross Hospital Seniors Emergency Center in Silver Spring, MD, which is specifically designed for emergency care for seniors (Holy Cross Health, 2014), the Seniors Clinic at the University of Colorado Health System to support the specific needs of senior patients (UChealth.org, 2014), and the Senior Services program at Henry Ford Health System of Detroit, MI (HenryFord.com, 2014). Each of these environments provide specific services for senior health problems that are common within this population through expert knowledge and clinical guidance to ensure that comprehensive care is addressed on a timely basis for all seniors.

For some seniors, length of stay has decreased in recent years, from 6.4 days in 1997 to 5.7 days in 2004, but at the same time, costs have increased by 25 percent (Nagamine et.al, 2006). Furthermore, emergency services for seniors increased from 49 to 57 percent, particularly for conditions that include congestive heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others (Nagamine et.al, 2006). Therefore, organizations must continue to expand their efforts to aid seniors with these and other health concerns that impact their wellbeing and quality of life at this stage (Nagamine et.al, 2006). Specialized services for seniors, therefore, are essential to establish the required care and treatment for this population that will serve them well throughout the remainder of their years (Nagamine et.al, 2006).

Demographics for Mission Viejo and the surrounding communities are summarized in the following table (City-Data.com, 2014):

Based upon these demographics for the nine municipalities under consideration, it is important to identify the resources that are required to enable the seniors of these communities to obtain access to high quality health services on a continuous basis to promote their greater health and wellbeing, both now and in the future.

Conclusion

The creation of a new hospital for seniors in Mission Viejo provides a positive opportunity to provide assistance to the needs of this population group across the nine municipalities under consideration. Since this population as a whole is rather significant, it is important to specifically address the needs of these seniors through a comprehensive framework that will support successful outcomes and demonstrate how seniors might benefit from their own hospital within the community. This hospital would provide specialty services that are specifically designed for seniors who require ongoing care and treatment for common conditions that they experience, in addition to addressing chronic illness that is common throughout this population. Therefore, this concept should be explored further as a viable opportunity to engage the people Mission Viejo and the surrounding communities to support their senior population at a higher level.

References

City-Data.com (2014). http://www.city-data.com/HealthinAging.org (2012). A guide to geriatric syndromes: common and often related medical conditions in older adults. Retrieved from http://www.healthinaging.org/resources/resource:guide-to-geriatric-syndromes-part-i/

Henry Ford Health System (2014). Senior services. Retrieved from http://www.henryford.com/body_academic.cfm?id=47936

Mayo Clinic (2014). Healthy aging. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/aging/ART-20046070?p=1

Nagamine, M., Jiang, J., & Merrill, C.T. (2006). Trends in elderly hospitalizations, 1997-2004.               Retrieved from http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb14.pdf

University of Colorado Health System (2014). Seniors’ health. Retrieved from https://www.uchealth.org/Pages/Services/Seniors-Health.aspx