For the Patient
Overview
We offer a wide range of healthcare services to help seniors remain as healthy and independent as possible. The geriatric specialists at St. Luke’s Senior Care Associates provide comprehensive physical, cognitive and social evaluations. Our geriatricians then partner with social workers and caregivers to develop customized care plans for each of our patients. In addition, our care team provides information about helpful community resources and offers a variety of services to support the caregiver.
The Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) is a specialized program that addresses the needs of hospitalized older adults in a multidisciplinary team approach to prevent functional and cognitive decline and to improve outcomes and satisfaction. The ACE program identifies older adults at risk and creates an individualized care plan to reduce hospital complications, length of stay, delirium rate and unnecessary medication use.
ACE is a focused approach to inpatient geriatric care that places otherwise healthy elderly patients with acute medical problems (like congestive heart failure or pneumonia) under especially watchful hospital care where a concerted effort can be made to prevent functional decline.
Patients referred for ACE are seen not only by their attending physician or hospitalist but also by a special team that includes a geriatrician, pharmacist, case manager, and physical therapist. Under the guidance of this team, ACE patients are gently motivated to maintain their ambulation and strength from the time they are admitted until their discharge.
*This program is available at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem*
St. Luke’s University Health Network has acute rehabilitation units in Allentown, Bethlehem and Lehighton. The units are ideal for patients when they are ready to be discharged from the hospital but not quite well enough to return home. As a result, they provide a seamless transition for patients who have experienced a catastrophic illness or injury and need an intense level of therapy.
The units offer a full spectrum of rehabilitation services. A team of physicians, therapists, nurses and social workers coach patients through various therapies that enable them to recover skills and live as independently as possible.
Conditions treated include brain injury, stroke, complex joint replacements, amputation, multiple traumatic injuries, neurological disorders, movement disorders and spinal cord injury.
St. Luke’s Senior Care Associates offers specialized services for seniors to help them maintain independence and high emotional, social, and physical functioning. Located at 5445 Lanark Road, Suite 103, Center Valley, PA 18034, they provide easy access to senior care and caregiver resources.
Senior Assessment:
- Physical Examination: Includes walking and balance assessments.
- Psychological Testing: Screens for depression and memory loss.
- Diagnostic Testing: Laboratory studies, MRI, x-rays as needed.
- Care Coordination: Develops a patient care plan based on findings.
- Family Conference: Discusses findings and recommendations.
- Polypharmacy Identification: Reviews effects of multiple medications.
Mindstreams® Cognitive Health Assessment:
- Advanced computerized evaluation of memory, executive function, attention, and more.
- Helps identify cognitive deficits early for timely treatment.
For more information, contact 1-866-STLUKES or visit St.Luke’s Event Calendar
The Geriatric Fracture Program, Own the Bone, at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem is dedicated exclusively to the care of older patients with fractures. Each patient follows a clinical pathway that will manage pain and reduce time spent waiting for surgery. This approach has proven to help patients achieve faster and fuller recovery. Our comprehensive and interdisciplinary team works together to provide the highest level of care available.
St. Luke’s was recognized in U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 Best Hospitals edition as a star performer with the Own the Bone Initiative.
Geriatric patients who experience trauma can require intensive resources. St. Luke’s trauma department has identified an opportunity to improve care for the geriatric trauma patient, including reduced delirium and decreased hospital length of stay (HLOS). All Geriatric trauma patients 65 years of age or older are screened by trauma staff using an evidenced based tool, Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR). Geriatric patients who yield greater than or equal to two during this screening receive an in-patient geriatric consult. To improve continuity in care and patient safety, recommendations made in the geriatric consultation - including post-discharge follow-up with a geriatrician are communicated to the patient’s primary care physician.
St. Luke’s University Health Network’s patient care extends far beyond the walls of the hospital. Many patients, especially older adults, also receive care in their homes usually following a hospital stay.
Care is available from the St. Luke’s Visiting Nurse Association, a non-profit agency that provides compassionate, excellent quality, cost effective home health care, hospice services and home-based parent/child programs.
St. Luke’s Older Adult Behavioral Health Unit accepts patients aged 60 and older, and younger patients on a case-by-case basis. The unit is staffed by geriatric-trained psychiatrists, medical-surgical nurses, mental health technicians, case managers, and activity therapists. They treat behavioral health conditions and address medical concerns common in advanced age, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
Recognized for high-quality, comprehensive care, patients have access to specialists for diseases common among the elderly, including heart disease, cancer, and neurological illnesses.
For more information or referrals, call 484-602-2733.
Affordable Healthy Eating
- St. Luke’s offers adults 65 and over a daily dinner meal for $3.99, including an entrée, salad, side, vegetable, dessert, and a 12 oz. drink.
Social Opportunities
- Participants can gather with friends, use Wi-Fi, and enjoy guest speakers during the dinner hour. Bring friends and family to join the fun!
Hours of Operation
- Geisinger St. Luke’s Hospital: 100 Paramount Blvd, Orwigsburg, PA 17961
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm
St. Luke’s Anderson Campus: 1872 St. Luke’s Boulevard, Easton, PA 18045
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm
St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem: 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015
- Dinner: Thursdays from 4 – 6 pm (Speakers: 1st Thursday of each month)
- Shuttle service available weekdays 7 am – 9 pm
St. Luke’s Carbon Campus: 500 St. Luke's Drive, Lehighton, PA 18235
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm (Dine In Only)
St. Luke’s Miners Campus: 360 W Ruddle Street, Coaldale, PA 18218
- Lunch: Weekdays from 11:15 am – 1:30 pm
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4:15 – 6 pm (Dine In or Carry Out)
St. Luke’s Monroe Campus: 100 St. Luke’s Lane, Stroudsburg, PA 18360
- Lunch: Weekdays from 11 am – 2 pm
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm
St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus: 3000 St. Luke’s Drive, Quakertown, PA 18951
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm
St. Luke’s Warren Campus: 185 Roseberry Street, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
- Dinner: Weekdays from 4 – 6 pm
St. Luke’s University Hospitals in Bethlehem and Monroe features a Senior Emergency Room program to meet the special needs of our older adult emergency department patients.
St. Luke’s Senior Emergency Room is not an actual room, but rather a specialized approach providing comprehensive emergency care that is tailored to the specific needs of older adults, and which is delivered by a team of specially-trained doctors, nurses and other experts.
St. Luke’s emergency department nurses with specialized geriatric training evaluate older patients. A risk assessment helps the treatment team determine next steps, such as physical therapy consults for fall risk, pharmacy for medication assessment. Case management also works with these patients and their caregivers to schedule follow-up appointments and provide other recommendations and resources.
Additionally, the emergency room has been designed and outfitted to meet the needs of older adults. Special features include:
- Environmentally friendly, subdued lighting
- Walls and anti-slip flooring with colors and patterns to enhance depth perception
- Handrails to assist with balance
- Lower beds
A Senior Care Surgery Coordinator (SCSC) works closely with the surgeon’s office, the operating room staff, the patient’s primary care physician and other health care professionals to guide older adults through the surgical process; before, during and after surgery.
The coordinator meets with the patient – and if available, his or her adult child, spouse or other support person – to carefully explain what’s involved with the surgery and the steps needed to prepare for the procedure. At that time, the SCSC performs a comprehensive assessment via the Pre-Operative Geriatric Assessment Tool (POGAT) that identifies the patient’s individual needs. Assessment areas include: cognitive (Mini-Cog), functional performance, gait and mobility, nutrition, medication/pain management and lastly, caregiver burden. The coordinator also conducts depression and frailty screenings.
This program is available at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem, St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus and Geisinger St. Luke's Hospital.
For more information, please call 484-526-4495.
Choosing a skilled nursing facility can be challenging. St. Luke’s University Health Network has partnered with area skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) based on:
- Quality of care
- 5-Star Quality Rating
- Length of stay
- Readmission rates
- Continued work with St. Luke’s
Preferred Providers:
St. Luke’s Miners Rehabilitation and Nursing Center – Coaldale
- 360 West Ruddle Street, Fifth Floor, Coaldale, PA 18218 | 570-645-8208
- 421 Chew Street, 5th Floor, Allentown, PA 18102 | 610-776-4910
The Summit Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at St. Luke’s Lehighton Campus
- 211 N. 12th St, Lehighton, PA 18235 | 610-377-7260
