The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has awarded a capital grant of $500,000 to renovate four hospital rooms for trauma patients in the G-60 program at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital.
John C. Lincoln’s G-60 program for geriatric trauma patients over age 60—the first of its kind in Arizona—was launched in June 2012 by trauma surgeon Alicia Mangram, MD, medical director for North Mountain’s Trauma Services, to provide expedited treatment plans and intensified care for trauma patients aged 60 and older.
Trauma injuries in the elderly frequently are compounded by chronic medical conditions and interactions between the numerous drugs older patients are taking.
“We know that outcomes after trauma are strongly correlated with increasing age,” Mangram said. “That means patients 60 and over need more attentive and complex care to achieve the same optimal outcomes experienced by younger patients. Trauma care for older patients needs to be distinct from care received for similar injuries incurred by younger trauma patients.”
G-60 patients receive regular visits from a multidisciplinary clinical team led by the trauma surgeon that makes rounds to evaluate each older patient’s progress and needs. The G-60 team includes trauma surgeons, trauma nurse practitioners and coordinators, hospitalists, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, floor nurse supervisors, nutritionists, physical/occupational/speech therapists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, social workers and case managers.
The patient rooms that will be renovated, thanks to the Piper Trust grant, are adjacent to each other and will form a unit for older trauma patients and will be conducive to rounding by the G-60 multidisciplinary team.
