A long-term geriatric teaching ward in an acute-care hospital: a three-year experience

The development and management of a long-term geriatric ward in an acute-care teaching hospital are described. Structure, function, and costs are discussed, and issues of service and medical education are emphasized. A full geriatric team (physician, nurse, social worker, physiotherapist, and occupational therapist) assessed 165 long-term patients in the general wards of the hospital and accepted 98 for admission to the new long-term geriatric ward. Of these, 31 were discharged; 29 per cent went to a facility that encouraged more independent living. Eighteen patients died during their stay in the geriatric ward; autopsies were obtained in 33 per cent--a higher autopsy rate than the average for general hospitals. General hospitals may continue to have large populations of chronically ill patients. This model for a geriatric ward may offer a way of dealing with a difficult situation.