A new study from the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute has found that almost half of all long-stay nursing home residents experience at least one transfer to an Emergency Department over the course of a year regardless of their cognitive status. While a high percentage of long-stay nursing home residents were sent to the ED, only about a third of these individuals were subsequently admitted to the hospital.
The study determined that while dementia severity was not associated either with likelihood of transfer to the ED or with having that transfer result in a hospitalization; age, race, two or more chronic diseases, number of hospitalizations in the year prior to study entry, and “Do Not Resuscitate” status all influenced the time to first ED visit.
Participants in the study were 4,491 long-stay (90 or more consecutive days) nursing home residents age 65 and above. Average time from entry into a long-term nursing facility to first ED visit for those with advanced stage dementia was 258 days; 250 days for individuals with early to moderate cognitive impairment and 202 days for those with no dementia.
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