VA Western New York Healthcare System Becomes First WNY Hospital with Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation
BUFFALO, NEW YORK — VA Western New York Healthcare System’s (VAWNYHS) emergency department received Level II Geriatric Emergency Department accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The Buffalo VAWNYHS site is the first emergency department in Western New York to receive accreditation by meeting or exceeding the standards and requirements of the ACEP establishing the health care system as a local and national leader in emergency department geriatric care.
As the nation prepares to care for its rapidly growing older population, VA is well positioned to share its experiences and lessons learned from treating previous generations of Veterans to include WWII, Korea, and now Vietnam era Veterans. “The ED visit can often present an opportunity to identify and assess overall health, functional decline, and caregiver needs of the Veteran,” said Dr. Torsten Behrens, Chief of the Emergency Department at VAWNYHS. “ED staff provides this unique assessment designed for older people and collaboratively works with all specialized VA programs to ensure physical, mental and social support and treatment plans are in place prior to discharge from the ED.”
According to ACEP, the concept of a geriatric emergency department was developed over the past decade as hospitals recognized that one size ED care does not fit all. Staff is trained to perform specific evaluations for the geriatric population such as delirium, falls, elder abuse, caregiver burnout and connect them to VA comprehensive care. They saw that older people in the ED present with needs, dispositions and outcomes that are quite specific. VAWNYHS’s accreditation reinforces VA’s dedication to the highest standards of care for Veterans as they age.
