N.S. Health hiring more staff to keep elderly patients moving while in hospital – CBC
Staying in bed too long can make it hard for seniors to get back on their feet, says official
May 16, 2023
A new program soon to be rolled out at regional hospitals across the province aims to get frail seniors out of hospital sooner with their mobility intact.
The early maintenance mobilization project is an initiative of the Frailty and Elder Care Network at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, created in 2021 with the goal of improving care for the province’s aging population.
“Functional decline is one of the leading complications of hospitalization in older people,” said Karen Nicholls, director of policy and planning for the network.
Working with the four health zones, the network approached the province with a proposal that’s led to the creation of 45 new positions to be spread among regional hospitals. The new staff trained in recreation or rehabilitation therapy should be in place by September and each health zone will also have a new frailty coordinator.
