Interdisciplinary care. Effect in acute hospital setting

The Senior Care Unit was developed to meet the needs of hospitalized elderly patients. Nurses assumed leadership roles as members of an interdisciplinary care team that also included representatives from medical, social work, dietary, physical therapy, and pharmacy departments. This collaborative effort not only resulted in a more complete holistic plan of care for the patient, but also increased the nurses' and other team members' knowledge of each other's areas of expertise. This project demonstrated that it is feasible to introduce a comprehensive, interdisciplinary geriatric team coordinated by the nurses into an existing staff, resulting in quality care without increasing the length of stay or hospital costs.