The team of Klalit's geriatric unit in Haifa dealt with the challenges that the past year brought with it in a dedicated and professional manner, continued to provide personal and warm care to its elderly patients and provided unique assistance to the elderly evacuees from the settlements of the North and the Western Galilee during the "Iron Swords" war.
The geriatric unit of Klalit Haifa and Western Galilee District is an experienced multi-professional unit, which includes doctors with expertise in geriatric medicine, geriatric nurses, nurses specializing in geriatric nursing, social workers with rich experience in treating the elderly population and an administrative manager. The most important of her duties is to perform a comprehensive geriatric assessment for the general patients aged 65 and over. The unit annually conducts over 4500 comprehensive geriatric assessments and over 400 home visits.
Diagnosis, treatment and close supervision
"A comprehensive geriatric assessment consists of a functional assessment, a cognitive assessment, an assessment of the individual's social status and community support resources, an examination of the adequacy and necessity of the current drug treatment, an assessment of the patient's mental and emotional state and an examination of the presence of geriatric syndromes. After the diagnosis stage and recommendations for treatment, we follow up and accompany the patients, the caregivers and family members," explains Dr. Danny Kirchner, director of the district geriatric unit and director of geriatrics in the district. "A significant component of the overall assessment and treatment is the guidance of the patient and his immediate environment in the field of preventing dangerous situations (such as falls, environmental safety risks, etc.) and providing tools to deal with situations complex medical and functional changes.
In addition to the individual trainings, there are also lectures and workshops for patients and their family members, adds Maya Levitsky, manager of the nursing team at the unit and district geriatrics coordinator. Ayelet Gimple - from Shulam, manager of the social worker team at the unit, says that: "The social worker team regularly conducts trainings for patients and their families, including providing emotional support, training for caregivers, dealing with crisis situations, as well as directing and referring to additional resources in the community."
therapeutic sequence
"The unit is in continuous contact with the family doctors of the patients referred for geriatric consultation as well as with the various district units, including the treatment and occupation unit, physical therapy, nutrition and the continuing care unit, as part of a treatment continuum concept of the highest standards," says Dr. Kirchner. "In addition, we Close ties are maintained with the geriatric department at Carmel Hospital in order to allow the elderly insured who were admitted to the hospital a continuum of care in the community that includes, if necessary, additional geriatric counseling and connection to the various district units."
Other services offered by the unit's staff include 'doctor-to-doctor consultation', which enables online and available consultation between the district doctors and the unit's doctors, who are experts in geriatric medicine. There is also a geriatric consultation service at home, performed by nurses specializing in geriatric nursing, for the insured who are confined to their homes.
"An important program that we are promoting together with 7 local authorities is called "Twin Care" and it makes holistic care accessible to the elderly at home while pooling health and welfare services," says Maya Levitsky. The transition from routine to emergency
The last year, characterized by its nature of uncertainty and significant changes in the daily routine of all of us, is a significant challenge for the unit. The difficult days do not miss the elderly population either. They greatly affect the mood, the levels of stress and anxiety, and as a result of them (in my opinion, to delete the word from them) also on the functional and cognitive ability as well as on the members of the family and the close circle who also need support and medical assistance.
Evidence of the teams' dedication was expressed in a special activity since the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war, which included, among other things, the provision of geriatric consultations and evaluations for evacuees from the northern border settlements at the Carmel Forests hotel as well as in other places. According to Dr. Kirchner: "The team of the unit operates from a sense of mission, which is an integral part of our fundamental values. For us, it is a great privilege to take part in the war effort and help all the evacuated residents, even if they are not insured by the insurance company. This is our duty as a medical team. To see the appreciation of the adults, it just warms the heart every time. The unit will continue to go out into the field and provide consultations where needed."
Responding to patients at home
Orna Nissan and Manar Moeti are nurses specializing in geriatric nursing and, among other things, they make home visits to patients who are confined to their homes. They kindly describe the service, which is in ever-increasing demand: "We conduct home visits for confined patients who need comprehensive geriatric counseling, against a background of functional and cognitive decline or for those who need counseling regarding drug treatment. The visit includes medical guidance, wound care if necessary, adjustment of the space at home, emotional care as well as the possibility of assistance in exercising rights and establishing contact with the relevant support factors. We provide a wide range of treatments, material and emotional, in order to improve the quality of life of our patients and place special emphasis on recommendations that contribute to reducing the need for repeated hospitalizations."
"The skilled and dedicated staff of our geriatric unit in Haifa has been accompanying thousands of elderly patients for many years. We will continue to provide them with the care, follow-up and support that is tailored to them and their family members at every stage. In addition to their dedicated work to patients and families, the unit believes in extensive activity in the field of clinical teaching for geriatrics specialists and in family medicine and medical students from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion" concludes Ronan Nodelman, director of the Haifa and Western Galilee district in general.
