• Press Release

Mount Sinai Opens New York City’s First Emergency Room for Geriatric Patients

The Mount Sinai Hospital, a leader in geriatric care with the most highly rated program in the country, has opened New York City’s first emergency room exclusively for patients 65 and older.

  • New York, NY
  • (April 06, 2012)

The Mount Sinai Hospital, a leader in geriatric care with the most highly rated program in the country, has opened New York City’s first emergency room exclusively for patients 65 and older. 

More than 15,000 geriatric patients seek emergency care at Mount Sinai each year, and up to half of them arrive at the hospital by themselves. In a busy emergency department setting, they can become disoriented, making them susceptible to falls, delirium, and other ailments unique to this population. 

Mount Sinai’s new geriatric emergency department (ED) features skid-proof floors and extra handrails to help prevent falls; dimmable lighting and diurnal skylights that mimic natural outdoor lighting throughout the day; and curtains designed to let in less noise. 

There are extra heating units to keep older patients warm; special mattresses that help prevent bedsores; and special lounge chairs that make it easier for geriatric patients to get in and out of. Some rooms also feature tablet computers that patients can use to contact the nursing station when they have a need or concern. 

Mount Sinai’s team of physicians, nurses, social workers, support staff, and volunteers are united in making elderly patients more comfortable during their time in the hospital. This holistic approach is based on Mount Sinai’s philosophy that the elderly will leave with better clinical outcomes, and have a higher quality of life long-term, due to improved coordination of care. This is particularly important as the U.S. population of elderly patients continues to grow. 

It was the personal experience of Kevin M. Baumlin, MD, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which prompted a multidisciplinary effort to establish a dedicated ED. Dr. Baumlin also created a training program for volunteers called CARE (Care and Respect for Elderly), who assist geriatric patients in the ED. 

“Several years ago, my elderly grandmother had fallen and was taken to an emergency room in New Jersey,” Dr. Baumlin said. “Eventually I found out that she was discharged and returned to her nursing home confused, scared, and alone,” he says. “Two years of work by our multi-disciplinary team has resulted in a new standard of care for older patients in our emergency department.” 

The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked as the top hospital in the country for Geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report also ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital 16th on its elite Honor Roll of the nation’s top hospitals based on reputation, safety, and other patient-care factors. 

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center 

The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Established in 1968, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of the leading medical schools in the United States. The Medical School is noted for innovation in education, biomedical research, clinical care delivery, and local and global community service. It has more than 3,400 faculty in 32 departments and 14 research institutes, and ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and by U.S. News & World Report. 

The Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is a 1,171-bed tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital 16th on its elite Honor Roll of the nation’s top hospitals based on reputation, safety, and other patient-care factors. Of the top 20 hospitals in the United States, Mount Sinai is one of 12 integrated academic medical centers whose medical school ranks among the top 20 in NIH funding and U.S. News & World Report and whose hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Nearly 60,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients last year, and approximately 560,000 outpatient visits took place. 

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/. 

Find Mount Sinai on: 
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Twitter @mountsinainyc 
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/mountsinainy

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

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