Seminal Delirium Prevention Program for Older Adults Stands Poised for Major Expansion

A benchmark delirium prevention program for hospitalized older adults is about to undergo a major expansion through the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), reports News-Medical . The AGS CoCare program will be enhanced into the AGC CoCare: HELP program. Original program developer Sharon K. Inouye said "we now have bandwidth through the AGS to demonstrate to more health systems than ever before how collaborating with geriatrics leads to improved health, safety, and independence for us all." The expanded program will broaden access to tools and hands-on guidance for implementing delirium prevention locally and for individuals. Institutional subscriptions provide access to a comprehensive implementation toolkit, an online educational curriculum for HELP personnel and volunteers, a certification program, scheduling for routine coaching calls, and an online community round the clock. These resources also help standardize best practices while supporting work to keep them at the leading edge of delirium prevention science. HELP offers a structured system to manage delirium and delirium prevention markers, with training to understand the value and practical implementation of daily visits, therapies, early mobilization programs, procedures to optimize sleep and hearing/vision, and opportunities for smoothing transitions between care settings.