A nursing-driven program to preserve and restore functional ability in hospitalized elderly patients

The authors discuss the hazards of hospitalization for the elderly and the successful development and implementation of a six-bed module for geriatric assessment and rehabilitation in a community hospital. The project, unique because it was accomplished with minimal additional resources, included the purchase of clinical nurse specialist consultative services from another hospital. Although interdisciplinary in focus, the entire program was developed, implemented, autonomously managed, and evaluated by nursing staff.