Summa Health Senior Health Center – Akron

Senior Healthcare Services

Caring for an older adult or someone with complex medical needs is hard work. Summa Health System is proud to assists with the resources and medical services your loved ones may need with one of the largest team of geriatricians and senior healthcare specialists in northeast Ohio.

Summa Health Senior Health Center

Our Senior Health Center is nationally-acclaimed for its model of care for seniors at every level of care. We provide an integrated approach that enhances quality of care and access to services allowing older adults to remain independent as long as possible. The team at Summa Health works together using their collective professional expertise to find solutions that will have the best results for you and your loved ones. We offer inpatient and outpatient care and other senior healthcare services in the following areas:

•    Memory assessment
•    Fall assessment
•    Geriatric assessment
•    Counseling services
•    Occupational therapy

NICHE

How We Care For Seniors At Summa Health System

NICHE is the country's leading nurse-driven program designed to help hospitals improve care of older adults. The program, based at the NYU College of Nursing, comprises 500 hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout North America.

Summa Health System Akron, St. Thomas and Barberton Campuses and Summa Health Center at Wadsworth-Rittman have earned NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) designation for senior care.

Summa Health System - Akron and St. Thomas Campuses have achieved Exemplar status from NICHE, which is the highest level of designation. We achieved Exemplar level because of excellence in the areas of organizational structure, leadership, geriatric staff competence and more. The NICHE designation and the Exemplar status demonstrate Summa Health’s resolve to provide senior healthcare serves that are patient-centered, high quality, sensitive and responsive. We strive for organizational excellence, system-wide quality and actions that greatly improve patient outcomes and satisfaction levels.

During Your Visit

The goal of your first visit will be to complete a geriatric assessment and establish a care plan- an "action plan" for future medical care. The plan will:

•    List of all identified medical issues
•    Suggest any specific interventions or action required
•    Recommend resources to provide any necessary support services

The collaborative care team often suggests care alternatives you might not have considered. Their training, experience and familiarity with the resources available in the Ohio community make them a valuable asset in making decisions about elder care.

After the first visit, Summa’s geriatricians will communicate with the patient’s primary care physician to share the team’s findings and discuss how to implement the team’s recommendations.

When is it time to seek senior healthcare services

Summa Health has created an assessment to determine if it's time to see a geriatrician. Click here to access the assessment; it only takes two minutes to complete.

For more information about our senior healthcare services, or to make an appointment at the Summa Health Senior Health Center, call 888.473.7285.

Why Choose Summa

Summa Health Seniors Institute offers an integrated approach to senior healthcare that enhances quality, access and outcomes for this patient population. The institute supports innovative care delivery models contained in healthcare reform legislation, such as accountable care organizations and the medical home.

As one of the first such models implemented in a community teaching hospital setting, the Institute is already attracting national attention. Results demonstrate it represents a viable, cost-effective senior healthcare delivery system that has value for patients, physicians and the health system.

Summa is one of a very few hospitals in the nation to receive multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Obtaining funding and conducting research helps the Institute refine and implement programs and services that are vital to senior health.

The Institute delivers high quality care more cost effectively, as demonstrated by outcomes' data which shows:

•    Shorter lengths of stay
•    Lower inpatient readmission rates
•    Reduced emergency department visits
•    Decreased use of medications associated with a high risk of side effects for seniors
•    Fewer post-discharge permanent nursing home placements compared to national statistics

The Institute achieves these results through a comprehensive menu of services that address the unique needs of older adult patients at every stage of care, from rehospitalization, throughout their hospital stay, to post-discharge.

Summa Health Seniors Institute is renowned for advances made in the study of aging and the science of geriatric medicine. It serves as a model of care for dozens of other healthcare organizations nationwide.