A hospital planning response to the "geriatric imperative"

The emerging geriatric patient population, a situation for which few hospitals are adequately prepared, is examined within the context of the "geriatric imperative." Reductions in morbidity and increases in the elderly population and the chronic diseases and disabilities associated with aging are causing hospitals to reexamine their orientation to short-term episodic care to adapt to the needs of a more elderly patient population. A geriatric care planning framework is presented to assist hospitals with this process.