Nurses at every level of care and administration must be aware of the effects of models of geriatric care on nursing practice.
In all adult settings, nurses will care for geriatric patients at some point in their career.
It is imperative to stay abreast of the developments in caring for elderly patients.
The 3 models currently in use and discussed in this article (ACE, HELP, and NICHE) all have unique aspects, and initial research suggests that they are effective at improving patient outcomes.
Therefore, hospitals need to assess all 3 models and the evidence associated with them and choose which best fits their needs as a hospital.
Hospitals should introduce a model of care for geriatric patients and closely track outcomes.
Outcomes that should be tracked include patient clinical outcomes, use of the interdisciplinary team, satisfaction, staff education, and cost-effectiveness.
Nurses can then make changes as needed to tailor the model to their needs. Nurses and hospitals can also contribute to the available research on the models.
Nurses will find that use of a geriatric model of care can decrease patient length of stay, cost of care, and inpatient complications; it can also increase patient satisfaction, nurse satisfaction, and positive patient outcomes.
Use of ACE, HELP, or NICHE is imperative to improve hospital care of older patients.