Serving an Aging Population
Emergency departments (EDs) across the United States face pressure to care for a rapidly growing population of older adults. To address this challenge head on, Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KP SCAL) partnered with West Health to pursue Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) across all 15 EDs in its network.
Focused on Fall Prevention
Early on, KP SCAL identified fall prevention as a key regional priority. Through a coordinated effort to adopt data-driven care and foster shared accountability, KP SCAL lowered the risk of falls across the region by 22%.
Steps to Success
- Designated physician, nurse, and regional clinical champions
- Embedded the Hester Davis (HD) Falls Risk Screening Tool into triage workflows
- Optimized EHR to track real-time screening completion and interventions
- Ensured timely interventions for positive screens through a standardized fall-prevention bundle and clearly defined safety behaviors
- Provided fall prevention education to patients and caregivers in the ED — and before admission or discharge
- Gave sites flexibility to adapt new practices to existing workflows
Standardizing Care and Delivering Value
Backed by strong executive support, KP SCAL achieved GEDA accreditation across all its EDs, turning evidence-based care into standard practice. In terms of implementation, they exceeded a 90% completion rate when screening adults aged 65 and older at triage. Similarly, 90% of patients who screened positive for fall risk received at least one intervention in the ED.
These outcomes aligned with broader organizational goals around patient safety and reducing preventable harm. More importantly, the work helped ensure older adults in the region received consistent quality care, while positioning KP SCAL to meet the CMS Age-Friendly Hospital Measure.
Read the Full Case Study
Explore all the details of the KP SCAL success story.
Learn More About GEDA Accreditation
By pursuing GEDA accreditation, your hospital or health system can meaningfully improve care for older adults while meeting broader organizational goals. Learn more about the advantages of GEDA accreditation and how to apply.
Discover How GEDA Strengthens CMS Compliance
GEDA care processes embed core tenets of the CMS Age-Friendly Hospital Measure into ED workflows. Explore how this helps improve geriatric emergency care while meeting national standards.