The Hospital Elder Life Program: a model of care to prevent cognitive and functional decline in older hospitalized patients. Hospital Elder Life Program

OBJECTIVES: To describe the Hospital Elder Life Program, a new model of care designed to prevent functional and cognitive decline of older persons during hospitalization. PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND PROCESS: All patients aged > or =70 years on specified units are screened on admission for six risk factors (cognitive impairment, sleep deprivation, immobility, dehydration, vision or hearing impairment). Targeted interventions for these risk factors are implemented by an interdisciplinary team-including a geriatric nurse specialist, Elder Life Specialists, trained volunteers, and geriatricians--who work closely with primary nurses. Other experts provide consultation at twice-weekly interdisciplinary rounds. INTERVENTION: Adherence is carefully tracked. Quality assurance procedures and performance reviews are an integral part of the program. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: To date, 1,507 patients have been enrolled during 1,716 hospital admissions. The overall intervention adherence rate was 89% for at least partial adherence with all interventions during 37,131 patient-days. Our results indicate that only 8% of admissions involved patients who declined by 2 or more points on MMSE and only 14% involved patients who declined by 2 or more points on ADL score. Comparative results for the control group from the clinical trial were 26% and 33%, and from previous studies 14 to 56% and 34 to 50% for cognitive and functional decline, respectively. Effectiveness of the program for delirium prevention and of the program's nonpharmacologic sleep protocol have been demonstrated previously. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the Hospital Elder Life Program successfully prevents cognitive and functional decline in at-risk older patients. The program is unique in its hospital-wide focus; in providing skilled staff and volunteers to implement interventions; and in targeting practical interventions toward evidence-based risk factors. Future studies are needed to evaluate cost-effectiveness and longterm outcomes of the program as well as its effectiveness in non-hospital settings.     

The alcoholism treatment service at the Maudsley Hospital, London

This article describes the linked clinical, research and teaching functions of the Maudsley's Alcoholism Treatment service. Emphasis is placed on the heterogeneity of the patients who are seen. Therapy must therefore always be patient-specific and the Procrustean insistence that patients should fit the programme rather than the programme fit the patients should be resisted. Within the diversity of approaches which are employed some important common elements can though be identified: detailed case assessment as the necessary basis for everything else, goal setting, a flexible intensity of response, networking with other treatment resources, and attention to methods of patient recruitment. The relationship between outpatient and inpatient services is discussed: about 80% of all new referrals are treated entirely on an outpatient basis. The clinical setting provides a teaching base for the Diploma in Addiction Behaviour. There is a close link between this clinical service and the Addiction Research Unit; issues of clinical and research collaboration and the interpretation and clinical application of research findings are considered. Whatever the theories in which a team believes or the techniques which it practices, the nurturing of hope is the vital essence of the practical business of treatment.     

Program at Home: A Veterans Affairs Healthcare Program to Deliver Hospital Care in the Home

The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC) participated in a research‐based National Demonstration and Evaluation Study of Hospital at Home Care for Elderly Patients. PVAMC continued hospital at home care in a modified form based on the results of that research phase and feedback from patients, families, and staff. The modified clinical program (referred to as Program @ Home) provided care for the same diagnoses (exacerbation of congestive heart failure, exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, community‐acquired pneumonia, cellulitis) but differed from the research‐based demonstration project in that it accepted patients of all ages, accepted early‐discharge patients from the hospital, and provided a less‐intensive physician and nursing model. In the first 42 months, 290 patients were admitted; 23% came from the emergency room, 54% were early hospital discharge, and the remainder came from an outpatient clinic or home care. Average length of stay was 3.2 days, and 37% were younger than 65. The results describe how a home hospital program has been integrated into the clinical care offerings of a managed care health system and how it supports inpatient, primary, emergency, and home care programs.     

Hospital Elder Life Program in the Real World: The Many Uses of the Hospital Elder Life Program Website

The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) can prevent delirium, a common condition in older hospitalized adults associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. In 2011, HELP transitioned to a web‐based dissemination model to provide accessible resources, including implementation materials; information for healthcare professionals, patients, and families; and a searchable reference database. It was hypothesized that, although intended to assist sites to establish HELP, the resources that the HELP website offer might have broader applications. An e‐mail was sent to all HELP website registrants from September 10, 2012, to March 15, 2013, requesting participation in an online survey to examine uses of the resources on the website and to evaluate knowledge diffusion related to these resources. Of 102 responding sites, 73 (72%) completed the survey. Thirty‐nine (53%) had implemented and maintained an active HELP model. Twenty‐six (35%) sites had used the HELP website resources to plan for implementation of the HELP model and 35 (50%) sites to implement and support the program during and after launch. Sites also used the resources for the development of non‐HELP delirium prevention programs and guidelines. Forty‐five sites (61%) used the website resources for educational purposes, targeting healthcare professionals, patients, families, or volunteers. The results demonstrated that HELP resources were used for implementation of HELP and other delirium prevention programs and were also disseminated broadly in innovative educational efforts across the professional and lay communities.     

Resurgence of syphilis: a prospective study at an University Hospital, Nimes

BACKGROUND: Since 2000, the incidence of syphilis has increased in France. The study objective was to estimate the frequency of syphilis in Languedoc Roussillon region in Southern France. METHOD: The prospective study was conducted between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2003 in different medical wards in a French University Hospital, Nimes. The diseased patients in this study answered to a questionnaire, providing epidemiological and socio-economic data, symptomatology and treatment-seeking behaviour. Blood specimens were tested for syphilis by the serological methods (TPHA, VDRL, FTA). RESULTS: In 6 months, serologic evidence of syphilis infection was found in 30 patients. Men were more than twice as likely as women to be infected with syphilis. Most men (64.7%) acquired the infection homosexually. Four women acquired infection during pregnancy. The mean age of study population was 46.3 years. 40.7% were married. Out of 27 cases, 70.4% cases had an associated sexually transmitted infection (HIV, hepatitis, herpes, and gonorrhoea). CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm the increase of syphilis in south of France and underline the importance of a permanent monitoring of sexually transmitted infection in target populations to allow a timely diagnosis and an appropriate treatment, and to plan preventive strategies.     

NIH Conference. Herpes simplex virus infection: biology, treatment, and prevention

Herpes simplex viruses cause common mucocutaneous infections, but many aspects of their epidemiology and transmission are incompletely defined. Although the incidence of oral herpes remains relatively unchanged, the incidence of genital herpes is increasing significantly. Definitive diagnosis of herpes remains dependent on virus isolation, but techniques involving direct examination of clinical specimens are increasingly sensitive and may simplify and speed diagnosis. With the advent of acyclovir, effective therapy and suppression of infection are feasible for immunodeficient and selected normal patients. Unanswered questions remain regarding the long-term safety of acyclovir and the potential for emergence of clinically significant drug resistance. No effective vaccines are yet available for herpes virus infections. Promising strategies for vaccine development include preparation of immunogenic proteins, engineering of specially attenuated live virus strains, and incorporation of selected herpes genes into live vaccinia virus vectors.     

The Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, England

This is the second in a series of five papers that Dr. Wooley wrote exclusively for The American Heart Hospital Journal based on his book, The Irritable Heart of Soldiers and the Origins of Anglo-American Cardiology, published by Ashgate Publishing in 2002.1 Dr. Wooley's book also casts light on the origins of the specialty heart hospital.     

Towards Freedom: treatment approaches to drug dependence at TTK Hospital

In this specially commissioned BJA series experienced clinicians give their personal and frontline views as to how the practical business of treating people with substance problems is best handled.