St. Barnabas Hospital is proud to announce the opening of a new unit to provide advanced medical, nursing, and rehabilitative care to older patients and stroke victims.

The new area will be known as the C.A.R.E. Unit, or Center for Aging and Rehabilitative Excellence. It is comprised of a Stroke Unit and a Geriatrics Unit run by an interdisciplinary team of health professionals dedicated to promoting the best care for these very special groups of hospitalized patients.

Our new unit offers patients who have suffered a stroke comprehensive care in order to minimize complications of the event and promote the best possible recovery. Rehabilitation is initiated as soon as medically feasible along with family education and social interventions to help make a healthy future a reality.

Close coordination with rehabilitation specialists will bring new hope to those who suffer a stroke. Linkages with our outpatient and short-term rehabilitation programs will ensure a rapid transition to a location appropriate to continue the process of recovery.

Elderly patients, especially those who are deemed to be frail, often suffer severe complications when they are admitted to a hospital. Too often a sudden illness and hospital stay for an older patient is the first in a series of unfortunate events that tragically ends in the development of chronic debilitating conditions, dependency on others, admission to a nursing home, or even death.

Our new unit will employ novel methods to promote the best environment for a quick recovery and prevention of complicating illnesses. A team of nurses, social workers, a geriatrician, speech therapist, nutritionist, and pharmacist carry out a set of policies directed at preventing the older patient from suffering a decline in function while recuperating from an acute illness.

The major precepts include making sure that patients are protected from adverse events, such as falls, infections, and medications that are problematic for the elderly. Patients will be strongly motivated to remain active and to receive as much nutrition as is possible.  These actions have been proven to reduce the development of confusion and delirium during a necessary hospital stay. It is our intention to send our elderly patients back into the community with the ability to maintain their health, dignity, and independence.