(June 18, 2008 - Rockville Centre, NY) - To enhance the care of patients from skilled nursing facilities, Mercy Medical Center has established a Center for Geriatric Excellence program. The program provides resources, maintains standards and disseminates best practices and advancing medical knowledge in order to meet the complex needs of the frail elderly who require hospitalization.

“The Center for Geriatric Excellence program is designed to provide more efficient evaluations and treatment of the many patients who come to Mercy Medical Center from area nursing homes,” explained Daniel G. Murphy, MD, Senior Director of Patient Care Operations.

Under the program, the goals and timeframe of hospital care are carefully monitored in order to optimize safety, dignity and privacy. Mercy’s in-house hospitalist physicians and the medical center’s full-time Director of Geriatric Medicine are available to assist private physicians who have busy private practices. The program provides personnel for close communication with the patients’ families, personal physicians and skilled nursing facilities to facilitate decision-making and assure continuity of care.

The program, which began on January 1st, has already produced significant improvements in the care of all patients at Mercy Medical Center, helping to create more capacity, decrease waiting times and significantly increase patient and family satisfaction.

The program continues to expand and better coordinate its services with the region’s skilled nursing facilities through the contributions of experts throughout Catholic Health Services of Long Island.

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Contact: Mel Granick
Phone: (516) 705-2618
e-Mail: Mel.Granick@chsli.org