Geriatric Accreditation

Community Hospital of Huntington Park (CHHP) became the second Pipeline Health hospital in Los Angeles to receive the coveted American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) geriatric emergency department accreditation (GEDA).

Older adults account for 46 percent of all ED visits resulting in hospitalization1. Approximately one out of every 10 hospital admissions are potentially avoidable, and the majority of those admissions are for patients over the age of 652.

The GEDA program, which recognizes emergency departments that provide excellent care for older adults, promotes the goals of providing quality care for senior patients. These include enhanced staffing and education and geriatric-focused policies and protocols, including transitions of care, quality improvement and outcomes, as well as more efficient preparation of the treatment area.

“The geriatric ED accreditation enables our hospital to better serve Huntington Park’s geriatric population,” said Victor Carrasco, interim chief executive officer. “The clinical leadership team did an outstanding job stewarding the accreditation process.”

The accreditation signals that the staff is focused on the highest standards of care for our community’s older adults. The hospital’s 16-bed emergency department achieved ACEP’s Level 3 accreditation.

Community Hospital of Huntington Park will continue to evolve its geriatric ED, which will serve as a focus for the reaccreditation process in three years.

WHI. Geriatric Emergency Department Factsheet (2013 HCUP-NEDS data). West Health Institute; 2017.

2 Stranges E, Stocks C. Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations for Acute and Chronic Conditions, 2008. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2010.