The Gerontologist, Vol 29, Issue 3 336-340, Copyright © 1989 by The Gerontological Society of America
Comprehensive geriatric care in a day hospital: a demonstration of the British model in the United States
L Morishita, AL Siu, RT Wang, C Oken, MP Cadogan and L Schwartzman
A geriatric day hospital (GDH) was developed in a community hospital to
meet the complex medical and social needs of the frail elderly. A review of
medical records (n = 273) and interviews with referring physicians (n = 42
on 96 patients) revealed that the GDH provided intensive outpatient care,
geriatric assessment, rehabilitation, and an alternative to
hospitalization. In all, 21% of physician-referred patients would have been
hospitalized without the GDH, 7% would have had longer hospital stays, and
care would have been deferred for 18%.
