Treatment and rehabilitation for seniors focused on returning to life at home.
About Us
The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at Zuckerberg San Francisco General was started in February, 2007, and cares for over 1,000 older patients each year. It is the first ACE unit in California. The mission of the ACE Unit is to provide the best inpatient care for hospitalized older adults with a focus on maintaining and improving physical and cognitive function. The ACE unit is a major site of Geriatrics teaching at UCSF for medical students, interns and residents, and Geriatrics fellows.
Getting Back to Living Life
Hospitalization is a risky period for older adults. Many of us are aware of elderly relatives or friends who are not quite the same after hospitalization. Patients may be weaker or have difficulty managing their affairs afterwards. Some of this decline can be avoided through a patient-centered, interdisciplinary, approach using best evidence to guide care.
The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit accomplishes this through:
- An interdisciplinary team in a prepared environment focused on the care of older adults.
- Expert medication review to remove unnecessary medications, identify potential medication side-effects or drug interactions.
- Interventions to maintain physical and mental health such as exercise, socialization, and focus on sleep hygiene.
- Early planning for discharge to make the transition out of the hospital as smooth as possible.
Your Team, Your Health
Each morning, patients are seen by healthcare professionals including a physician, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist, and a social worker. This team then meets to discuss the plan of care bringing their specific area of expertise to bear for each patient. The team continues to evaluate each patients’ progress until hospital discharge.
The ACE unit exports its knowledge and expertise in acute care for the elderly to other units throughout Zuckerberg San Francisco General through education sessions.
Check out ACE Unit helps seniors get back to their lives, excerpted from the San Francisco Chronicle.