Hackensack University Medical Center Emergency & Trauma Center Receives Level 1 Accreditation

Geriatric-friendly equipment, Specially Trained Teams and Delirium Screenings Among Factors Improving Care

Hackensack University Medical Center is one of 10 hospitals in the nation to have a Level 1 Geriatrics Emergency Department from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program.

This Geriatrics Emergency Department Accreditation was developed by leaders in emergency medicine to ensure that our older patients receive well-coordinated, quality care at the appropriate level at every emergency department encounter.

“This accreditation demonstrates our commitment to providing specialized emergency care for older adults in our community,” said Ihor S. Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, regional president, Northern Market, chief research officer, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Our Emergency & Trauma Center team members are proud to be among the nation’s leaders in providing pioneering geriatric emergency care.”

The GEDA program provides a framework of specific criteria and goals for emergency clinicians and administrators to target, including more than two dozen best practices. To achieve Level 1 GEDA status, Hackensack University Medical Center’s Emergency & Trauma Center was required to demonstrate that it complies with many of the GEDA best practices, such as using geriatric-friendly equipment, providing specialized interdisciplinary training for team members, and performing routine screenings for delirium, dementia, fall risk and other vulnerabilities.

“Our participation in the GEDA program is important because it gives our team a framework through which we can assess the geriatric emergency care we already provide and develop new geriatric-focused quality improvement initiatives,” said Joseph Underwood, M.D., chair of Emergency Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center. “Although this accreditation signifies that our Emergency Department is among the nation’s leaders in geriatric emergency care, our team is always looking for innovative ways to improve outcomes for older adults.”