Frail seniors will start receiving improved care when The Scarborough Hospital opens a new geriatric urgent care clinic this winter.
The Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network (GAIN) clinic will be one of four in the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), which oversees health care planning for an area stretching from Scarborough to Peterborough.GAIN is a network of many initiatives geared to helping frail seniors.It involves health care and social service professionals from hospitals and community agencies, including the Community Care Access Centre which coordinates care in the community, Doctors will be able to refer patients to the clinic, which will be staffed by geriatric teams for specialized assessment and intervention.The teams will include doctors specializing in elder care, geriatric nurses, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, pharmacists and laboratory and diagnostic imaging professionals.After an assessment, a senior needing care can be admitted to a special unit for the frail elderly or referred to community agencies to receive services at home.Nancy Veloso, The Scarborough Hospital's interim patient care director for medicine and geriatrics, said the program is needed."This is a coordinated expert team providing a full range of services to frail seniors who are coming to emerg (the emergency department) or who can be diverted from emerg and admitting," she said in a statement."It is also an opportunity to see seniors coming directly to the clinic from the community and diverting them from an emerg visit altogether."The GAIN program will mean the hospital will act as a one-stop shopping centre for the frail elderly who visit the ER with multiple and complex health issues.Although the clinic is expected to begin this winter, an opening date has not yet been determined.