Rush Hospital Elder Life Program
RUSH Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) is a patient care program that helps prevent delirium and functional decline in older hospitalized patients. HELP was originally developed back in the 1990s by Sharon Inouye, MD, MPH, an internist and geriatrician at Harvard Medical School. Since then, the program has been implemented in many hospitals across the world, including RUMC.
Using a trained team, HELP addresses a wide range of geriatric issues during a patient’s hospitalization. HELP promotes activities for the mind and body of older patients during their hospital stay. These activities will help improve the patient’s outcomes by preventing functional decline and enhancing their overall recovery process during their hospital stay.
Delirium in Hospitalized Older Adults
Being in the hospital upsets normal routines, just at the time the patient is coping with illness. This disruption can cause hospitalized older adult patients to develop delirium and other complications.
Delirium is a sudden change in mental status, or sudden confusion, which develops over hours to days. In general, delirium is a reversible, short-term condition, sometimes called “acute brain failure” because of its sudden and dramatic onset. Delirium is an especially common and serious problem in hospitalized older patients.
Learn more in this video from Health In Aging:
Resources
How It Works
And What To Expect
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Connect
If you are concerned that your loved one is acting differently since being in the hospital, talk to your loved one’s care team (i.e. their nurses and providers in the hospital). Keep an eye out for signs of delirium, which you can learn about above, under the “Resources” section.
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Assess
The care team will determine your loved one’s risk factors for developing delirium. They will get in contact with the HELP team for you.
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Receive Care
Your loved one will be enrolled in HELP and receive regular visits from our team.
How Can We Help
Keep Minds Engaged
This is the core of what we do. We lead your loved one in activities and conversations that keep their mind sharp.
Get Patients Moving
Out team will lead your loved one in movements with us and on their in bed.
Encourage Nutrition
We can support in ordering meals, staying hydrated, and encouraging proper nourishment.
Adaptive Support
Our team provides adaptive support to patients with vision or hearing loss so that they can actively engage in their care.
Looking to get your loved one enrolled during their hospital stay?
Speak to your care team today, and ask for the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)!
Contact: Ayla Raye-Leonard, RN, Hospital Elder Life (HELP) RN Coordinator
Email: Ayla_Raye-Leonard@rush.edu
Address: Rush University Medical Center | 1620 W. Harrison St. Chicago, IL 60612