Skywalker Volunteers for Older Patients In ED

Aim

The aim of the Skywalker Program is to create an age-friendly environment in the Emergency Department by providing emotional support, companionship, and cognitive engagement for older patients. This reduces anxiety, enhances comfort, allows healthcare professionals to focus on clinical tasks.

Outcomes

There was significant increase in patients' satisfaction rating in all aspect of nonclinical care. These results highlight the positive impact of the Skywalker Volunteer Program on various aspects of patient satisfaction and care quality in the Logan Hospital Emergency Department.

Overall Non-Clinical Care:

• Pre-implementation: 42.9% rated "Poor" or "Fair."
• Post-implementation: This decreased to 3.2%, with 76.2% rating "Very Good" or "Excellent."

Improved Cognitive Engagement:

• "Poor" or "Fair" ratings decreased from 79.4% to 15.9%.
• "Very Good" or "Excellent" ratings increased to 47.6%.

Background

Logan Hospital's Emergency Department (ED) has experienced a significant increase in older patients presenting with complex care needs. These patients often suffer from frailty, cognitive impairments, and social factors that complicate their care. The busy and chaotic environment of the ED, combined with high staff workloads, frequently results in basic care needs being overlooked. This situation increases the risk of hospital-associated harm and functional decline among older patients.

Recognizing the need to enhance the quality of care and create an age-friendly environment, Logan Hospital implemented the Skywalker Volunteer Program. The central question addressed by this project was whether providing supportive care and companionship through trained volunteers could improve patient satisfaction and care quality for older adults in the ED. The initiative aimed to address the unique needs of older patients by offering non-clinical support, thereby improving their overall hospital experience and reducing the risk of adverse outcomes.

Discussion

The implementation of the Skywalker Volunteer Program at Logan Emergency Department has yielded significant improvements in patient satisfaction and non-clinical care quality for older adults. The pre-implementation survey results highlighted several areas of concern, particularly in providing food and drinks, meal tray accessibility, meaningful conversation, and engagement in activities. Post-implementation results showed marked improvements, with a substantial increase in the percentage of patients rating their experiences as excellent or very good. This suggests that the presence of volunteers significantly enhances the overall patient experience by addressing their non-clinical needs more effectively.

The program also provided indirect benefits to healthcare staff. Volunteers take on non-clinical tasks, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on clinical care. This redistribution of duties leads to more efficient use of staff time and potentially better clinical outcomes. Additionally, positive patient feedback and the collaborative environment fostered by the program can contribute to higher staff morale and job satisfaction, although these benefits were not directly measured.

The success of the Skywalker Volunteer Program was attributed to several factors, including the supportive environment and the volunteers' ability to build rapport with patients. Key lessons learned included the importance of comprehensive volunteer training and the need for ongoing support and supervision. The program's strengths were its positive impact on patient satisfaction and non-clinical care quality, while weaknesses included challenges in volunteer recruitment and training. Opportunities for expansion to other departments and hospitals were identified, as the program demonstrated potential benefits in various healthcare settings.

Limitations of the project included potential selection and response biases, the focus on a single department, and the small sample size. Future steps involve conducting larger-scale studies with control groups to validate the findings and explore the long-term impacts of volunteer programs on patient outcomes and healthcare delivery. The Skywalker Volunteer Program could be successfully implemented in other Queensland Health facilities, particularly in departments with high volumes of older patients. Expanding the program could further enhance care quality and patient satisfaction across the healthcare system.

References

1. Eat Walk Engage Program. (2024), Clinical Excellence Queensland

2. The Joint Commissio. (2023), Emergence Department Standards

3. National Quality Forum (2009). National Voluntary Consensus Standards of Emergency Care

4. Mayo Clinic. How can we improve the experience of older adults in the emergency department?