Justin Stabley/KJZZ

The Arizona Geriatrics Society says the state should have more than 500 geriatricians. But as of 2016, there were only 117.

When an older adult lands in the emergency room, it can be disorienting and even lead to worse outcomes. That’s one reason why Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix became the first accredited geriatric emergency department in Arizona several years ago. Now, it’s the first again for something else. 

If a patient 65 or older ends up staying at Banner University hospital, they’ll be assessed and possibly moved to the new 20 bed Acute Care for Elders unit, known as ACE. It’s the only one of its kind in the state.

Dr. Nimit Agarwal is the Chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine there. 

We have a specialty team who is managing the care of those patients, which includes a physician, usually a geriatrician who's a specialist in the caring for older adults, or a hospital medicine physician with a special focus in geriatric medicine. And this team has really trained the nursing staff, the case management, social work staff, the therapy staff. 

"In addition to the disease based care that we do, with the ultimate goal that a person who comes into the hospital goes back into the community in a very functional state rather than going into a skilled nursing facility as much as possible. So that is what this program is trying to do," said Agarwal.

Agarwal says older adults have unique needs and challenges, from mobility and medication issues to dementia. And it means having staff trained in geriatric medicine to help provide optimal care. 

Justin Stabley/KJZZ

Dr. Nimit Agarwal is the chief of geriatrics at Banner University Medical Center.