Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit

ACE

 

The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit is major site of Geriatrics teaching at UCSF for medical students, interns and residents, and Geriatrics fellows.

Our Mission

The mission of the ACE Unit is to provide the best inpatient care for hospitalized older adults with a focus on maintaining and improving physical and cognitive function.

Hospitalization is a risky period for older adults. Many of us are aware of older relatives or friends who are not quite the same after hospitalization. Patients may be weaker or have difficulty managing their affairs afterwards. Some of this decline can be avoided through a patient-centered, interdisciplinary, approach using best evidence to guide care.

The ACE unit accomplishes this through:

  • Interdisciplinary care in a prepared environment.
  • Careful medication review to eliminate unnecessary medications.
  • Deployment of non-medication interventions such as exercise, socialization, and focus on sleep hygiene.
  • Early planning for discharge to home.
Each morning, patients are seen by healthcare professionals including a physician, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist, and a social worker. This team then meets to discuss the plan of care bringing their specific area of expertise to bear for each patient. The team continues to evaluate each patients’ progress until hospital discharge.

The ACE unit exports its knowledge and expertise to other units throughout the hospital through education sessions.

Our Program

The ACE Unit at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital was started in February, 2007 and cares for over 400 older patients each year. It is the first ACE unit in California.

Website

ZSFG Acute Care for Elders

Contact Information

Edgar Pierluissi, MD
Medical Director, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit
[email protected]

Rosaly Ferrer
Nurse Director