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Geriatric Surgery

Optimal Care for Older Adults

The Rochester Regional Health Geriatric Surgical Program provides safe, high-quality surgical care for adults 75 and older. Our patient-centered care addresses the unique physiological, social, and treatment goals of aging surgical patients while improving surgical outcomes. This first-in-the-nation program offers individualized surgical plans carefully crafted to meet our patients’ specific needs and help them maintain their independence.

Call (585) 922-5465

Geriatric Surgical Services

Offered at Unity Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, and Clifton Springs Hospital, the Geriatric Surgical Program bases a personalized surgical plan on each patients’ comprehensive pre-op evaluation. Our team of expert providers will assess cognitive status, risk for delirium, nutritional status, mobility/functional status, and risk for swallowing difficulties before creating a plan that fits the outcomes our patients want and need. Our team will take the time to learn more about the things that bring patients joy so we can carefully adjust the plan to help them thrive after surgery.

Our program reaches far beyond standard surgical procedures. The individualized treatment plans will include:

  • Anesthesiology
  • Pain management
  • Medication management
  • Physical & occupational therapy
  • Speech-language pathology
  • Nutrition
  • Discharge planning
  • In-home services & home care

Throughout the consultation, we will talk through treatment options, and whether or not they meet each patients’ needs. For some, invasive surgeries will not align with their goals, and we will work tirelessly to find surgical options that provide ideal outcomes. Here, patients will find robust, complete treatment plans with optimized goals crafted just for them.

Our team of specialists is focused on providing you with frustration-free care. For example, if a patient has hearing or sight issues, we will protect their hearing by sending them into and out of the operating room with their glasses and hearing devices on to best minimize disorientation.

Preserving Dignity Through Surgical Care
From independence to reassurance, we thoughtfully consider outcomes and complications to ensure the safety of our patients. Our program and healthy system are Age-Friendly, using the evidence-based elements of high-quality care known as the ?4Ms?: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility to support the strength and vitality of our patients.
Learn More About Age-Friendly Care
geriatricsurgery-promo

Program Benefits

Because our program is focused on each patient, our goal is to provide geriatric care that will help them achieve their treatment goals while maintaining independence. Together, we will aim to:

  • Decrease the length of hospital stays
  • Minimize risk factors during and after surgery
  • Improve surgical outcomes
  • Reduce recovery time
  • Prevent post-operative complications
  • Reduce the likelihood of readmission

In 2019, the American College of Surgeons introduced 30 new surgical standards that were designed to improve surgical care and outcomes for older adults. These standards address infrastructure issues, screening for geriatric vulnerabilities, and thorough care-team coordination. They are the basis for our Geriatric Surgical Program, carefully implemented to provide the best possible care.

Logo for the American College of Surgeons Geriatric Surgery Verification
Proudly Verified by the American College of Surgeons
As an American College of Surgeons Geriatric Surgery verified program, we are held to rigorous standards to ensure we provide the best possible care and outcomes to our older patients.
Learn More about the ACS Program Standards

Frequently Asked Questions

We believe there is a critical need for safe, high-quality, patient-centered surgical care for older adults. Aging surgical patients have unique physiological needs, social needs, and unique care goals. As such, we implemented a protocol unique to caring for the needs of our older surgical patients, optimizing your care with a focus on your goals, transitions of care, clinical excellence.

If you are 75 years or older, and coming into the hospital for an inpatient surgical stay, you will be notified at the surgical pre-testing appointment.

If you are 75 years or older, at your surgical pretesting appointment, you will receive the initial geriatric screening. If you are deemed high-risk in those categories, you may be referred on for additional testing before surgery – PT, OT, Speech, Nutrition, or a more comprehensive geriatric evaluation. 
Why do I need all of those extra tests?
The purpose of these additional evaluations is to establish a baseline for your function before surgery, so we can use that baseline as a comparison for your function after surgery. This allows us to optimize and specialize your post-surgical care in our hospital.

Since your previous surgery, the hospital has implemented the Geriatric Surgery Verification Program.

Patients can be referred to any surgeon at Unity Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, or Clifton Springs Hospital, as all surgeons are participating in the program.

Unity hospital is the first of Rochester Regional Health’s hospitals to achieve status as a Geriatric Surgery Verification program. The plan is to eventually have all of our hospitals verified. 

The care team staff, per usual protocol, will have the access they need to your information. In addition, your surgical care may be discussed at a multidisciplinary conference—the purpose of this meeting is to make recommendations to improve your care while you are with us, and reduce the likelihood of postoperative delirium, and other negative post-operative reactions.

There will not be any additional charges, as a result of this program, to your regular surgical pre-testing appointment. If you are found to be high-risk, you may incur additional costs depending on what services you are referred to for pre-surgical evaluation.

Not necessarily, the purpose of the program is to optimize your surgical experience, rather than deter you from moving forward with your scheduled surgery. We make all of our recommendations on a case-by-case basis.

Why Choose Rochester Regional Health?

We are proud to be an age-friendly health system and were the very first in the nation to offer a geriatric surgery program. It is our mission to improve surgical care and outcomes for aging populations through our implementation of the standards provided by the ACS. Our Geriatric Surgical team continues to lead the way and has partnered with the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN) in creating new educational training programs for providers. With our team, patients are in the very best hands.

People 65+ are the fastest-growing population segment in the United States, and they are expected to make up 20.1 percent of the Monroe County population by 2030. This would, if not for the creation of this program, lead to more surgeries and more complications.

Older adults often have multiple chronic health conditions and multiple medications. They also tend to have more surgeries and a higher risk of complications during these surgeries. Our patient-centered care focuses on defining what a good outcome looks like to each patient–be it staying out of a nursing home, going on trips, or getting to head back out to the golf course. With each patient, we ask, we care, and we carefully consider individual needs when planning a surgery.

Our expert physicians are also regularly featured in local news articles and interviews, speaking about the extraordinary care the Geriatric Surgical team offers. Read more from Matthew Schiralli, MD in In Good Health and the Rochester Beacon. 

Senior patient and their doctor chatting about surgical options
Exceptional, Senior-Centered Care 
Doing the Right Thing
We cannot address problems we don?t see or talk about. Going beyond surgical standards, we carefully assess if, and how, surgery can improve our patients? lives, and how we can minimize risks and reduce recovery time. Together, we communicate as a team to provide personalized, optimized surgical care. Ask your surgeon if this program is right for you, or call the number below with questions.
Call (585) 922-5465
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