Spotlight

Baylor receives $12 million pledge to benefit geriatric patients

Baylor Health Care System Foundation is proud to announce that the Deerbrook Charitable Trust has pledged more than $12.4 million over the next three years to improve care for geriatric patients.

“As the first baby boomers begin turning 65 this year, there is an increased need to enhance care for the rapidly growing elderly population,” said Joel Allison, president and chief executive officer of Baylor Health Care System. “This transformational grant will allow us to develop best practices that will leave a lasting mark on geriatric healthcare for years to come.”

Deerbrook has a strong interest in advancing care for the elderly. The Trust approached the Baylor Health Care System Foundation with the seed of an idea and called upon Baylor to strategically plan, develop and execute programs that advance the field of geriatric care.

“Baylor has a unique set of resources that perfectly position them for a project of this magnitude and scope,” said Arthur Sundstrom, executive director of Deerbrook Charitable Trust. “Their Magnet designation for nursing excellence, visionary leadership, national prestige and innovative culture secured the confidence of the Deerbrook trustees and reinforced that Baylor was the natural choice to lead this ambitious project.”

“Deerbrook challenged us to consider how health care could be delivered more effectively to the elderly population” said Rosemary Luquire, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, NEA-BC, corporate chief nursing officer at Baylor. “Based on this challenge, we have developed a multi-pronged program that will improve care of the elderly population in hospitals, nursing homes, patients’ homes and through the education of future caregivers.”

Rosemary worked with Cynthia Krause, vice president at the Foundation to forge a collaborative effort among Deerbrook representatives, Baylor clinical leaders and Foundation employees. Together, they took Deerbrook’s vision and created several innovative new programs.

This extraordinary commitment will help advance elder care in many ways. It will allow Baylor to: 1) create specialized geriatric nursing education programs; 2) refine a comprehensive volunteer program for hospitalized older patients; 3) create education and best practice partnerships with skilled nursing homes; 4) create a consortium with regional geriatric experts in nursing universities throughout North Texas; and 5) assess risks for chronically ill patients and refine a transitional care model to reduce their hospital readmissions and emergency room visits.

The findings from these initiatives will be presented in research publications that could improve care for geriatric patients. Baylor will freely disseminate best practices, educational programs and teaching tools developed from these programs with nursing schools, health care organizations as well as through virtual centers of learning throughout the country.

“We are incredibly grateful for Deerbrook Charitable Trust’s extraordinary pledge and visionary leadership,” said Rowland K. Robinson, president of the Foundation. “They presented a challenge that required Baylor to respond with innovation, insight and boldness, and we are excited about the opportunity this provides to create real breakthroughs in patient care.”

Read More