Baxter Health's Cline Emergency Center in Mtn. Home, Ark., has achieved Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians. The designation makes Baxter Health the first and only emergency department in Arkansas to earn a Level 1 accreditation, officials announced on Monday.
Only three other hospitals in the state hold any level of geriatric accreditation, but none have reached Level 1, which is the highest level of recognition awarded by the program.
The accreditation program recognizes emergency departments that provide advanced care for older patients, who often face unique risks during an emergency visit, such as falls, delirium, dementia and medication complications. The program's framework traces back to 2014, when the American College of Emergency Physicians joined the American Geriatrics Society, the Emergency Nurses Association and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine to publish national guidelines for geriatric emergency care.
Similar to trauma center designations, the program features three levels based on the number of implemented best practices. Achieving Level 1 requires an emergency department to meet the vast majority of more than two dozen recommended best practices, maintain geriatric-appropriate equipment and supplies at all times, and provide ongoing interdisciplinary geriatric education for staff.
Kelly Dicks, director of the Cline Emergency Center, noted the achievement reflects years of dedicated work by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and staff.
"This accreditation belongs to every physician, nurse, and staff member who put in the work to get us here," Dicks said. "Their dedication to our older patients, day in and day out, is what made this possible."
Ron Peterson, president and CEO of Baxter Health, said the accreditation is proof that specialized care is available close to home for the large, rural region the hospital serves.
"We strive to provide quality care for every patient who walks through our doors," Peterson said. "But for a community like ours, with so many older neighbors who have trusted us for years, this accreditation means we are living up to that trust in a very real way."
