When elderly patients visit the hospital they can become disoriented and even develop delirium. To offset this condition, one anonymous donor recently gave $170,000 and another, the Marion E.C. Walls Trust, pledged $150,000 to start the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP).
Delirium, caused by a combination of illness, immobilization, drug side effects and sleep deprivation, is marked by profound confusion, agitation, combativeness and lethargy.
“Between 15 and 20 percent of elderly hospitalized patients will experience delirium and in some settings, such as the ICU, more than 50 percent will develop it,” says Dr. Zaubler, MD, MPH, chairman and medical director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. The costs, he adds, are enormous, for a patient’s quality of life and medical care.
HELP, a comprehensive delirium prevention program, begins this spring on Jefferson 4. An elder life specialist will be hired to coordinate volunteers and screen patients over age 70, and trained volunteers will engage enrolled patients in memory and concentration tasks and assist with routine daily activities.
“This is an elegantly simple but effective intervention; up to 40 percent of all delirium episodes can be prevented,” says Dr. Zaubler, whose tireless efforts explaining the value of HELP were instrumental in securing the program’s support.