Evaluation service operates at Cooinda
Older people needing care in the transition from West Gippsland Hospital to returning home will no longer have to travel to Neerim South to access the Geriatric Evaluation Management service.
West Gippsland Healthcare Group has announced plans to relocate the GEM service to Cooinda Lodge Nursing Home, which is located within the hospital precinct.
GEM provides older patients with specialised sub-acute care and rehabilitation services to help them achieve positive health and independence following a hospital stay.
WGHG chief executive officer Dan Weeks said the West Gippsland Baw Baw Strategic Services Plan identified the relocation of GEM beds within Cooinda as a service goal to enhance medical and patient outcomes.
“At present, Neerim District Health Service is restricted on patients it is able to accept,” he said.
Mr Weeks said Cooinda Lodge was ideally suited to accommodate GEM.
“Cooinda Lodge has a number of vacant beds which would be utilised to accommodate the GEM care stream. It also has good outcomes for existing Transitional Care Program (TCP) patients.
“We plan to convert five vacant aged care beds into GEM beds, resulting in a total number of 55 aged care and transitional care program (TCP) beds remaining within the Cooinda Lodge facility.“
WGHG director of allied and community health Audra Fenton said the relocation of GEM into Cooinda Lodge would provide a number of benefits to older people needing GEM.
“It will provide a more enhanced and seamless service close to our hospital and interdisciplinary healthcare specialists including allied health, Hospital in the Home (HITH), Residential in Reach (RIR) and on-site pharmacy.
“It will also remove the need for our hospital patients to be transferred to Neerim South to receive GEM care,” Mrs Fenton said.
WGHG aims to integrate GEM into Cooinda Lodge during January 2018.
“A working party with representation from staff, residents/families will be working to make the transition as smooth as possible, with minimal disruption to Cooinda Lodge residents and their families,” Mr Weeks said.