MORGANTOWN — Mon Health Medical Center celebrated its Emergency Department’s accreditation as a Geriatric Emergency Department with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
Mon Health received the Level 3 Bronze accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians in October.
Mark Gilliam, Mon Health System senior vice president and Mon Health Medical Center chief administrative officer, said it is one of only two emergency departments in the state and the only one in the northwest region to receive the accreditation.
The percentage of the nation’s population age 65 and up is growing, he said, and West Virginia ranks third in the U.S. for that population. Care for that group involves increased complications and complexities.
“As a result of that we are changing and have changed the way we are delivering services in our Emergency Department,” he said.
“This was really a team effort,” he said of the work to achieve the accreditation. It also involved financial contributions: $350,000 from the Mon Health Medical Center Auxiliary and other private donations amounting to $450,000.
The speakers explained that a Geriatric ED isn’t a specific place but a program of care.
Dr. Christopher Edwards, Mon Health director of Emergency Services, talked about their exploration of the process of polices and procedures to obtain accreditation.
“We found that we were pretty much doing all of it. We just kind of had to put it to paper and submit it to get the accreditation,” he said.
The auxiliary’s donation will go to non-slip flooring throughout the ED. Rooms will have large-format clocks for easier visibility, more mobility aids, higher step stools to make getting in and out of bed easier, more chairs in the rooms, handrails throughout the rooms and hallways, and dementia screenings for early intervention.
“We need to pay attention to the special needs that our elderly and geriatric folk require,” he said.
Chris Battin, auxiliary president, said her father is a geriatric patient with mild dementia and faced some challenges in the ER, but was able to handle them.
“But I was thinking about the patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s who become extremely anxious in an unfamiliar place,” she said. “What about the patients with impaired mobility who can’t get on the exam bed? … We have all experienced ER visits with our parents and loved ones.”
The process began two years ago, she said, and the auxiliary promised to raise $350,000 in three years. They’ve done it through Treats To Go events, designer bed raffles, all kinds of sales, football parking and the gift shop.
“But guess who helped us do this? You, our community,” she said. The community bought the goods they offered and parked their cars for football games.
Gilliam explained a bit more about the meaning of the accreditation after the ceremony. It shows that they’ve put in place all the needed protocols and processes, and provides evidence that they are in fact doing what they say they’re doing with the program.
The accreditation will be reviewed and renewed annually by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
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