Howard County?s senior population continues to grow, prompting health officials to boost services to meet seniors? unique and rising needs.
“Today we are increasing our focus on providing specialized care for seniors,” said Victor Broccolino, president of Howard County General Hospital.
Hospital officials plan to look into building a Center for Excellence in Geriatric Health, with the help of the Horizon Foundation.
The foundation granted the hospital $950,000 spread out over the next four years ? the largest grant to a single institution in the foundation?s history ? to examine ways to meet seniors? needs through dedicated services or facilities.
For example, the center could be virtual, without a specific location, or physical, like a clinic or a training facility, said Rich Krieg, president of the Horizon Foundation.
“It?s going to be a new ball game in terms of the accommodations, the equipment and the thinking,” Krieg said.
Seniors typically receive hospital care alongside the general population, but their needs are unique because they tend to have more ailments than other patients, Broccolino said.
The quality of senior health care also affects their families, said Phyllis Madachy, administrator of the county?s Office on Aging. A more specialized focus on senior care could help increase community support.
“It has the ability to really change how older adults and their families are treated in and out of the hospital,” she said.
Madachy said the effort is part of the county?s infrastructure to meet the needs of Howard residents and those who may move there.
This initiative is part of the Community Health Partnership, a joint effort between the Horizon Foundation and the hospital totaling some $3 million.
The partnership will also support Columbia Center of Chase Brexton Health Services, whose customers include those with Medicaid, Medicare and the uninsured, and funded the development of the Behavioral Emergency Unit, which opened in February.
AT A GLANCE
» During the next 25 years, the number of Howard residents 55 and older is expected to grow by more than 46,000, rising from 19 percent to 31 percent of the population, according to Howard County?s 2004 senior housing master plan.
» Seniors made up 28 percent of the inpatients at Howard County General Hospital in fiscal 2006, hospital spokeswoman Sharon Sopp said.
