Mount Sinai Hospital Boasts One-Of-A-Kind Emergency Room For The Elderly
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Mount Sinai Hospital may be bustling on the outside -- and it's routinely busy in the regular emergency room -- but there is an extra-special room for the elderly.
70-year-old Susan Wells and her husband of 40 years are impressed.
"Wow, it's very different from what it was a year-and-a-half ago," Wells told CBS 2's John Slattery. "Different in a good way, a very good way."
Unlike most emergency rooms where you can't tell day from night, this one has artificial skylights that change with the time of day.
"It actually prevents sundowning, which means that when a patient wakes up, they understand whether it's daytime or nighttime," emergency room physician Dr. Kevin Baumlin said. "It encourages good sleep."
It's a geriatric emergency room designed for baby boomers who are now hitting their mid-60s -- and their parents.
"I love it here," 22-year-old Keleen Robinson, who was visiting her grandfather, said. "It was very fast to get us through, and it's a very beautiful wing."
Changes include non-skid floors, rails on the walls, quiet monitors and iPads that allow patients a touch of technology.
"It's an innovation that allows the patient to see and talk with the nurse," Baumlin said. "It also allows the patients to order a little bit of food, ask for pain medications or play a little music."
20 percent of ER patients are over 65, and in this day of surveys, hospitals are keenly aware that patient satisfaction surveys, in part, decide how much Medicare money hospitals get.
Could a hospital experience possibly get any better than this? Share your thoughts and comments below...
