UH Launches Delirium Prevention and Treatment Initiative
A $100,000 grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey to the Foundation of UMDNJ for University Hospital will allow physicians to develop and test a program to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired delirium among the most vulnerable patient population: patients age 50 and older in the Intensive Care and Trauma Units. The symptoms of delirium, which include hallucinations, loss of memory and inability to recognize or communicate with loved ones and caregivers, is stressful for all. The goal of the new program is to reduce hospital-acquired delirium by at least 20%. Interventions will focus on a pharmacologic approach, using a new Delirium Prevention and Treatment Protocol (avoidance of medicines associated with the development of delirium), and a non-pharmacologic approach, which will incorporate education and complementary care, including massage and music therapy. The principal investigators are Peter Yonclas, MD, assistant professor of surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation at NJMS/Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation, and Anne Mosenthal, MD, chair and professor of surgery at NJMS.