Provider’s G-60 program tailors trauma care to older adults
LOS ANGELES: A provider has rejigged its G-60 programme to now tailor trauma care to older adults.
The Baby Boomer generation began turning 65 in 2011 and will comprise 20% of the total U.S. population by 2029, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As this generation ages, the need for health care that is tailored to their specific needs is imperative.
With this in mind, Alicia Mangram, M.D., F.A.C.S., medical director at HonorHealth’s John C. Lincoln Medical Center’s Trauma and Critical Care Services, created the G-60 program to address the specific needs of older adults who experience traumatic injuries.
G-60 is the older adult trauma services program at HonorHealth’s three hospitals with a Level I Trauma Center. These locations include John C. Lincoln Medical Center in Phoenix, Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center and Deer Valley Medical Center. The G-60 program establishes a multidisciplinary medical team and an accelerated treatment plan to improve outcomes for older trauma patients, according to HonorHealth.
Mangram, who developed the program, is passionate about senior health care and has written over 100 publications, peer reviews, presentations and case reports on the topic in addition to her lab and bench research experience in the field.
About 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year — resulting in more than 32,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Statistics like these are what inspired Mangram and her G-60 team to develop their specialized program.
“In the beginning of my career, I quickly realized that a traumatic injury in patients 60 years and older could occur from a simple fall resulting in a hip fracture,” Mangram said. “The traditional approach was to admit them to a medical physician and await medical clearance for pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, etc. prior to any surgery. But, while patients waited for medical clearance, other medical related complications could develop.”
Recognizing the cause of these complications lead to a paradigm shift and implementing an aggressive care approach for senior patients, Mangram added.
Research has shown that trauma patients aged 60 and older sustain more serious injuries than younger patients with similar causes of trauma. Studies also show that older patients often experience more complications from their trauma injuries than younger patients due to aging and chronic medical conditions. “Designing a distinct medical program that tailors care to geriatric trauma patients has led to better overall patient outcomes,” Mangram said.
She explained that the G-60 program provides effective and expedited care for trauma patients over 60 beginning the moment a qualifying patient is identified in the emergency room. Once a part of the G-60 program, the patient benefits from a multidisciplinary team of staff dedicated to caring for geriatric patients; quicker care; and private hospital rooms, some with special accommodations for older patients (softer lighting, larger clocks, built-in handles and fixtures and more).
“Our goal is to optimize the recovery of people aged 60 years or older who have experienced a traumatic injury,” she added. “We do this by increasing public awareness of the changing demographics and the associated increased trauma risks to patients aged 60 and older through education, social media and advocacy.”
Through research, Mangram and her team found that G-60 program patients experienced a shorter stay in the emergency department, waited less time to go from the ER to the operating room and had shorter intensive care unit and overall hospital stays than those not in the program. “Our data shows that addressing the specific needs of elderly trauma patients will lead to better outcomes,” she said.
In addition to the time efficiency of the program, G-60 patients benefit from a care approach backed by specialized research and data analysis, Mangram said. This includes utilizing alternative pain management modalities and an openness to a variety of care models, including the biopsychosocial model.
“The biopsychosocial perspective is a medical model that attempts to demonstrate links between the biological, psychological and social aspect of a person and how it attributes to disease outcome,” according to HonorHealth.
All this specialized expertise leads to one goal: The achievement of optimal levels of functioning and independence for senior patients upon discharge from the G-60 program, Mangram said.