An innovative approach to the medical management of the nursing home resident: the EverCare experience.

Providing quality medical care to the frail elderly who reside permanently in nursing homes is associated with a variety of problems and impediments. This article describes the solution devised by two geriatric nurse practitioners who created a program of care called EverCare. This program, now a Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) demonstration project, incorporates the nurse practitioner in a collaborative relationship with the primary care physician to provide early detection and intervention for myriad health and medical problems found in the nursing home population and to enhance the care of the frail elderly overall.