E17 Hospital Network Emergency Day: special effort for the elderly patient rewarded with GEMS certificate

For the fifth time, the seven hospitals that make up the E17 hospital network (to which our hospital belongs) are organising the joint training day, 'Emergency Day'. This year, the focus is on the unique challenges and needs of elderly patients. The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the leading international organisation for emergency care, awards participants the Geriatric Education in Medical Sciences (GEMS) certificate as a reward for all their efforts.

Karel Decaluwé, emergency admission Head Nurse at the General Hospital Groenige in Kortrijk is one of the organisers: ‘This year, the central theme of “Emergency Day” is “The Geriatric Patient at the A&E”. Our objective? The healthcare professionals learn how to be meaningful in assessing and treating the vulnerable target group with confidence. In this way, they can contribute to improving the medical outcomes and quality of life for geriatric patients. Topics include physiological changes with aging, abuse in the elderly, trauma, immobilisation, neurological emergencies, and contingency planning. We are the first hospital network to join forces so that all A&E nurses may complete this training. I would therefore like to thank my colleagues, the head nurses from the emergency services of the other hospitals for the efficient collaboration: Joke Poelvoorde, Geert Van Iseghem, Ans Geeraert, Pascal Standaert, Philippe Fortain, Tatiana De Roover and Vincent Vanvossel.’

The ‘Emergency Day’ is organised for various times: Thursday, 13 October 2022; Friday, 14 October 2022; Friday, 21 October 2022 and Wednesday 23 November 2022 at the Groeninge General Hospital in Kortrijk.

More information about the E17 Hospital Network is available here.