ECMC awarded American College of Emergency Physicians geriatric emergency department accreditation

ECMC achieved level 3 GEDA accreditation

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has awarded the Erie County Medical Center emergency department its bronze standard – level 3 geriatric emergency department accreditation (GEDA). In its accreditation correspondence, ACEP stated, “Erie County Medical Center’s accreditation signals to the public that your institution is focused on the highest standards of care for your communities’ older adults.”

A press release stated, “The voluntary GEDA program, which includes three levels similar to trauma center designations, provides specific criteria and goals for emergency clinicians and administrators to target. The accreditation process provides more than two-dozen best practices for geriatric care. The level of GEDA accreditation achieved depends upon how many of these best practices an emergency department is able to meet. A level 3 emergency department must incorporate many of these best practices, along with providing interdisciplinary geriatric education, and have geriatric appropriate equipment and supplies available.”

ECMCC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., Ph.D., said, “This accreditation from ACEP reinforces the high-quality care and clinical excellence that ECMC is known for, particularly in our emergency department. It further highlights our caregivers’ commitment to ensuring that all patients, notably older adults, receive the very best health care services they need.”

The GEDA program is the culmination of years of progress in emergency care of older adults. In 2014, ACEP, along with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Emergency Nurses Association, and American Geriatrics Society, developed and released geriatric ED guidelines, recommending measures ranging from adding geriatric-friendly equipment to specialized staff to more routine screening for delirium, dementia and fall risk, among other vulnerabilities.