Optimal staffing for Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) units.

Overview

Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) units have been shown to improve outcomes for hospitalized elders. Because the literature offers little to describe the appropriate staffing of such units, we surveyed ACE units about their size, configuration, staffing, patient selection, training, and outcomes data. Although we had anticipated speaking with staff from 30 to 40 units, we were able to poll key personnel on only 18 ACE units. This article describes staffing and continuous quality improvement data for these sites.