COVINGTON, La. – St. Tammany Health System’s main campus Emergency Department is an accredited Geriatric Emergency Department, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and its Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program.
“Our elders are some of the most vulnerable people who visit our Emergency Department, and a significant portion of the population we serve across the Northshore,” explained STHS Emergency Services Director Bradley Leonhard. “Our board-certified emergency medicine specialists and specially trained emergency care teams in our EDs sought out and earned the GEDA designation because we want our geriatric patients to come here confident in our expertise, compassion and teamwork.”
ACEP GEDA accreditation includes specific criteria and goals for clinicians and administrators. Requirements begin with demonstrating that the participating emergency department includes both a physician and nurse with specialized geriatric training on staff, meets environmental criteria such as easy patient access to water and mobility aids, and has a geriatric quality improvement program.
More information on the program is available at ACEP.org/GEDA.
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About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health
About the American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is the national medical society representing emergency medicine. Through continuing education, research, public education, and advocacy, ACEP advances emergency care on behalf of its 40,000 emergency physician members, and the more than 150 million Americans they treat on an annual basis. More at ACEP.org and EmergencyPhysicians.org.