The HELP Program and Mobility in the Emergency Department

Hailey Stapleton-Roppel & Melissa Friskney

Purpose: Methods: Outcomes:

The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), is a program In order to successfully create, implement, and evaluate our HELP and Mobility Interventions
120
implemented into various units of Northumberland project it was important that we conducted sufficient research,
Hills Hospital (NHH), which focuses on minimizing recorded our findings, and evaluated the results of our 100

cognitive and physical decline of patients aged 65+ implementation. 80

during their hospital stay. Our goal was to implement 60

the program into the emergency department(ED). Shadowed a HELP volunteer on an acute care unit to get a
While doing so, we identified a considerable gap in better understanding of the way the program works in other 40

the program. We discovered a link between cognitive areas on the hospital. 20

function and mobility, and chose to design our Focused on working alongside the geriatrics emergency 0

project with the goal of creating a sustainable Delerium Risk Mobility Interventions HELP Interventions Improved
management (GEM) nurse in order to understand how her
program to increase the mobility of our elderly position in the ED impacts the lives of our community 56% of patients seen were at risk of delirium
patients. members
67% of patients who had HELP interventions implemented partook in mobility
interventions
100% of patients had HELP interventions implemented
Population Served: Recognized the amount of patients we were working with 100% of patients showed cognitive improvement after interventions were
that had been in the ED stretchers and/or chairs for upwards implemented
The HELP program targets elderly patients (65+) in
of 20 hours. Nurses have stopped us to tell us how much we have helped
emergency department, generally focused on
patients who are suspected to be experiencing We recognized that this is partially due to nursing cutback patients improve, but more importantly, the words we hear from
cognitive impairments such as dementia, delirium, and time restraints and that getting every patient out of their the patients solidified this for us when they make statements
and general cognitive decline. room to go for a walk, is not always possible for nurses. such as Wow do I ever feel better now.
It was also noted that assisting with certain mobility Although these mobility activities are not ideal, in order to
Setting: activities is not in the scope of practice for volunteers create a sustainable project it was necessary to alter it to the
The Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg, and high school students. capabilities of volunteers and high school students. If nothing
Ontario was an appropriate opportunity for us to else, these small mobility activities and stretches will hopefully
implement the project we are working on. As of the Conducted a literature review on the impact of mobility in the increase patients self confidence, range of motion, and attitude
2011 Census, 27% of the community of emergency department, and concluded that there is a strong towards mobility in the emergency department.
Northumberland consists of people aged 65 and up correlation between patient decline, and the amount of time
(Statistics Canada, 2012). they spend bedridden in the ED.

Collaborated with the recreational therapist and

physiotherapists in the hospital to gather suggestions and
advice on our project.

Created a ring of flashcards that consists of exercises that can

be done in a stretcher or a chair, in order to keep the mobility
project sustainable by including exercises within the scope of
volunteers and high school students.

Implementing these exercises with laminated flash cards. We

recorded the results to evaluate the impact the exercises
have on our work with the patients, and the sustainability of References:
Statistics Canada. 2012. Northumberland, Ontario (Code 3514) and Ontario (Code 35) (table). Census Profile. 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue
the project. no. 98-316-XWE. Ottawa. Released October 24, 2012. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
(accessed February 3, 2017).