Planning to meet the needs of the hospitalized elderly.

With the elderly population increasing, the number of elderly clients served by almost any type of health care organization will continue to increase. What kind of planning does a hospital nursing administrator need to do to assure that her or his nursing service can give better care to a larger numbers of elderly clients? What are the staffing considerations? Services and facilities considerations? Staff education needs? Budget considerations? Quality-of-care issues? This article will discuss these questions and present Eitel Hospital's comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of the hospitalized elderly.