Dive Brief:
- The number of emergency departments dedicated to caring for older adults will likely grow over the next 18 months in order to provide better care for this targeted population, experts told AMN Healthcare.
- According to the ECRI Institute, about 50 geriatric EDs are currently operating in the U.S. and another 150 are in development.
- Experts say the growth is necessary to meet the needs of the number of Americans aged 65 and older who make up a quarter of all ED visits.
Dive Insight:
There's no question that the health system needs to develop a greater capacity to deal with the specialized health concerns of the elderly. (There is also a great need for geriatricians, who are in short supply in the U.S.) With the number of Americans over 65 projected to be 89 million by 2050, it's obvious something needs to be done to meet their specialized needs.