Senior Health Services

Senior Health

Hospital Senior Care

Elderly patients undergoing care at Christiana Hospital or Wilmington Hospital benefit from Christiana Care's committment to providing excellence in health care for seniors.

We Improve Senior Health: The WISH Program

The WISH Program is a collaborative effort among nurses, physicians, pharmacists, rehabilitative therapists, social workers, dietitians and other disciplines to improve the care that Christiana Care delivers to senior patients in all settings. WISH is a way of thinking and caring for older patients; the WISH Senior Health Resource Team serves as a resource to the doctors, nurses and other health care providers in the hospital to ensure that everyone is working together to provide best-practice geriatric care.

WISH is derived from a national initiative called NICHE, developed by New York University, Division of Nursing and the Education Development Center for Health Care Practice funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc. of New York. For more information about Christiana Care's WISH Program, call 302-733-4999.

Acute Care for the Elderly: The ACE Unit

Christiana Care's ACE Unit improves clinical outcomes in older patients by preventing complications and preserving the patients' functional ability. This includes preventing or minimizing the following during hospitalization:

Falls.
Skin breakdown.
Restraint use.
Delirium.
Cognitive decline.
Immobility.
Constipation.
Foley catheter use.

The interdisciplinary ACE team meets on a scheduled basis to conduct rounds and review each patient. The team works to integrate care planning and improve continuity of care and communication with patients and families.