A co-managed approach to hip fractures

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is launching a new program to help seniors with hip fractures.

Geriatricians and geriatrics-trained clinicians will train with orthopedic surgeons as co-managers to improve seniors’ care and health outcomes. The program is being funded with $1.4 million in support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, a private nonpartisan philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults.

“Our joint investment and partnerships with the John A. Hartford Foundation will lead to a new health enterprise to improve care quality and safety for older adults,” says Nancy E. Lundeberg, MPA, CEO of AGS in a press release. “We’re confident the geriatrics-orthopedics model also will accelerate co-managed care in other areas, bringing geriatrics and other medical specialties even closer together.”

As part of the three-year implementation plan, geriatricians will intervene as soon as possible after a senior enters the hospital for hip fracture with the goal of helping to identify and reduce the risk for harmful events ranging from falls and delirium to infections. The model has been shown to reduce length of stay, re-admissions and most complications while increasing the patient’s chances of going home directly from the hospital.

This is the society’s first specialty specific co-management program. 

Nicole Stempak

Nicole was Senior Editor at I Advance Senior Care and Long Term Living Magazine 2015-2017. She has a Journalism degree from Kent State University and is finalizing a master’s degree in Information Architecture and Management. She has extensive studies in the digital user experience and in branding online media. She has worked as an editor and writer for various B2B publications, including Business Finance.