Abstract
In 1980, a geriatric consultation team was formed at Massachusetts General Hospital to meet the complex medical, psychological, rehabilitative, nutritional, and social needs of geriatric patients. This team strives to provide elderly patients with the comprehensive care necessary to potentiate return to maximum independent functioning and to change attitudes of primary caretakers toward care of geriatric patients through increased recognition of the elderly as a heterogeneous group. The team consults on patients with changes in mental status, need for physical rehabilitation, "failure to thrive," or need for definitive planning for posthospital disposition. The dietitian conducts nutritional screening of each patient, is a nutrition resource for team members, and promotes collaboration in nutrition care planning. When the dietitian communicates nutrition concerns, goals, and care plans for patients to other health professionals, they use the information to reinforce her recommendations and integrate nutrition components into their care plans. A multidisciplinary approach has resulted in earlier identification and evaluation of functional ability, more comprehensive individualized care planning, and a reduced percentage of readmissions.
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