Meitav – Optimal treatment for the elderly

The program's objective is to create an age-friendly hospital. How: by creating mobility pathways in inpatient departments, preventive treatment under the guidance of a geriatrician and more. The project was initiated by Joint-Eshel in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The key to senior mobility.

The program was launched this week at a special event, although it had already been implemented in several internal medicine departments at Hillel Yaffe and is expected to expand to all inpatient departments where intervention in this regard is required for inpatients.

The program, borne from a partnership between Joint-Eshel and the Ministry of Health, is a national program that is dedicated to ensuring effective, preventive and personalized treatment to elderly patients who are hospitalized - known around the world as an age-friendly hospital.

Meitav launch event at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

“One of the things we see frequently among elderly patients who need to be hospitalized due to disease, falls or other issues, is that the elderly person finds themselves in bed throughout most of their hospital stay. As a result, there is a risk of deterioration of their physical and cognitive function,” said Dr. Efrat City, member of Hillel Yaffe management and the professional in charge of the Meitav program at the hospital. “The objective of the project is simple - to prevent functional decline during hospitalization among the elderly, meaning taking a variety of steps to prevent deterioration in the elderly patient’s functional state, both by helping them walk in the department and throughout the hospital and by changing the hospitalization spaces in a manner that is beneficial to them.

At Hillel Yaffe, several people joined forces to implement the project: Yael Krebs-Cohen, Physical Therapy Service Director, Vered Cohen, Supervisor in Nursing Management - responsible for encouraging walking, along with Prof. Merav Ben Natan, Director of the Academic School of Nursing. Meital Sevilla, Occupational Therapy Service Director, is in charge of delirium prevention, and Shelly Rado - Palliative Care Coordinating Nurse.

The implementation of the project requires the nursing and medical staff to synchronize with allied health professionals to provide the appropriate response to senior inpatients, so that when someone is hospitalized and they meet certain medical criteria, the department staff will involve geriatric and physical therapy specialists and more - who check and diagnose the patient’s needs and tailor a personalized plan. Depending on the plan, the part of preventive treatment for delirium (state of confusion) will be led by a geriatrician and be in line with the Walking Promotion Program in which nursing students from Hillel Yaffe's Nursing School provide assistance.

These actions, as already been proven around the world, help provide a directed, safe and friendly response for seniors. The main benefit is treatment of all the needs of the elderly, and the motivation is to reduce effects such as delirium, repeat hospitalizations, and ICU stays, and especially increasing the satisfaction of the patient and their family.