Senior Adult Unit

Inpatient care to the elderly 

The Senior Adult Unit (SAU) provides inpatient care to the elderly who have experienced a sudden change in mental status or who are experiencing an acute phase of a chronic disability or mood disorder. Such changes result in behaviors which may place them at risk in their homes or community-based settings.

The primary goal of the program is the stabilization of symptoms through interventions of:

• medical and psychiatric evaluation
• pharmacologic assessment
• patient and family education
• physical rehabilitation
• group and individual therapy
• nutritional assessments
• supportive case management

The Senior Adult Unit is an ACE (Acute Care of the Elderly) program which aims to improve clinical outcomes by providing multidisciplinary care in a safe and comfortable environment. The SAU team is trained in the specialized care of the elderly and, as a result, Addison Gilbert Hospital is designated a NICHE (Nurses Improving Care of Healthsystem Elders) site; one of only eleven in Massachusetts. The only NICHE site on the North Shore.

The Senior Adult Unit team includes:

Patients also have access to Northeast Hospital staff consisting of internal medicine physicians and hospitalists as well as medical consultations with specialists in such areas as neurology, cardiology, surgery, endocrinology, urology, and pulmonary medicine. Rehabilitation services provided include physical, occupational, speech and language, and respiratory therapy.

THE PROGRAM

Services focus on the emotional aspects of illness while managing chronic, sub-acute medical conditions. Patients are provided with daily clinical services available through group or individual therapies. Each patient is seen daily by the medical director or the nurse practitioner. Consulting physicians are available, as needed, to address chronic medical conditions which require ongoing care and monitoring.

Patient and family communication is a key element in the care offered. Social work services are provided for the patient and his or her family members to ensure coordinated contact and discharge planning. Meetings with patients and their families are routinely held so that the hospitalization plan is understood and so aftercare plans are developed in coordination with patient and family needs.

DAILY ROUTINES

A  patient's daily routine includes group activities such as pet therapy, music therapy, art or exercise programs. Patients have access to telephones, TV and CD/radios. The Senior Adult Unit has a piano, raised garden on the Addison Gilbert Hospital grounds, as well as a library with health-related references and internet access patients and their families may use. Patients receive their meals in a community, family-style setting. Meals are prepared on site and a registered dietician is available to address the unique nutritional needs of each patient. Chaplain services are also available.

Suggested Visiting Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., every day.

The clinical team meets daily to review the patient's plan of care, monitor the patient's progress towards goals, and to ensure implementation by all caregivers of the program. Communication with family members and community care providers is a routine part of the individualized care plan for each patient.

HOW TO ACCESS SERVICES

You may call the admissions coordinator between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 978-283-4001, ext. 790.

When it is necessary to evaluate and triage patients for unscheduled, after hours admissions, patients are evaluated and admitted through the Emergency Departments of Addison Gilbert and Beverly hospitals.

Referrals are accepted from other healthcare settings such as acute or long-term care providers, as well as primary care physicians and patients and their family members.

INSURANCE COVERAGE
Major health insurance plans, including Medicare, cover these services. Check with your insurance carrier to ensure eligibility for reimbursement.