[1000th Issue Special] Personalized care for elderly patients, with support that continues after discharge
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Gangnam St. Peter's Hospital 25-12-19 00:00Main content
[1000th Issue Special] Personalized care for elderly patients, with support that continues after discharge
By Bae Ji-young Updated 2025.12.19 15:19 Issue 1000 Comments 0
A visit to St. Peter's Hospital's dedicated geriatric care team
Treatment plans for patients aged 80 and over are drawn up considering their physical and mental condition and social circumstances
Multidisciplinary care involving every relevant department, and an anesthesia system that minimizes side effects
Dr. Yang, Kyu Hyun (right), Orthopedics, St. Peter's Hospital, successfully treated a 100-year-old patient who was transferred after a hospital near their home judged surgery impossible because of their very advanced age, despite a femoral fracture sustained in a fall: he performed a closed reduction to realign the joint bones and then internal fixation using an intramedullary nail.
Dr. Yang, Kyu Hyun (right), Orthopedics, St. Peter's Hospital, successfully treated a 100-year-old patient who was transferred after a hospital near their home judged surgery impossible because of their very advanced age, despite a femoral fracture sustained in a fall: he performed a closed reduction to realign the joint bones and then internal fixation using an intramedullary nail.
[Baeksesidae = Reporter Bae, Ji Young] Once people reach later life, a patient's state of health cannot be explained by age or a particular disease alone. Of two people the same age of 75, one may enjoy exercising every day and keep up an active social life, while another barely gets through daily life under multiple chronic conditions and cognitive decline. An older person's health is determined by a complex interplay of physical function, mental state and social environment.
This change is clearly apparent in Korean clinical practice too, now that the country has entered a super-aged society. That is why 'geriatric-specialized hospitals', which address the physical, mental and social characteristics of older people rather than centering care on a single disease, are increasing in number.
The most notable feature of a hospital specializing in geriatric care is its integrated care system. Specialists from a range of departments work together, and nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and social workers form a team that designs care around each individual patient. This approach makes it possible to address all at once the polypharmacy, fall risk, cognitive decline, nutritional imbalance and social isolation that are common in elderly patients. Importantly, a management system that extends beyond inpatient treatment to connect with life after discharge plays a key role.
Against this backdrop, St. Peter's Hospital has drawn attention as the first community hospital to build a specialized model for elderly patients. To see specialized geriatric care in practice, this reporter visited St. Peter's Hospital in early December.
◇Planning from disease treatment through to after discharge
In March last year, St. Peter's Hospital launched a new 'dedicated geriatric care team' (TF) and set out to strengthen its specialized medical services for seniors. It was a pioneering treatment team in Korea dedicated to patients aged 80 and over.
Elderly patients with spine and joint conditions often shy away from treatment because they find surgery and recovery daunting. And even once treatment begins, weak physical reserves and chronic conditions do make it more difficult.
St. Peter's Hospital formed the dedicated team in order to reduce cases in which treatment is given up because of age, and to treat elderly patients more safely and systematically. The aim is to provide integrated care covering the entire process, from surgery through to rehabilitation and pain management.
Yoon, Kangjun, President of St. Peter's Hospital, explained: “A patient in their 90s who came to us with spinal stenosis once told me that the pain had been very hard to bear, but that people around them had often said, ‘just put up with it and live with the pain,’ on the grounds that surgery would be difficult and could be dangerous. That account was the decisive reason we formed the Elderly-Specialized Care Task Force. In fact the patient had a very strong will to recover, and the progress after surgery was excellent.”
In the year since the TF was launched last year, visits by elderly patients have indeed risen markedly. Patients aged 90 and over increased by as much as 20%, and in September a 100-year-old patient successfully underwent surgery for a femur fracture.
Director Yoon, Kangjun said, “I do not think it is right to limit the chance of recovery because of age, or to dismiss the pain and loss of function caused by disease as a natural part of ageing,” adding, “Now that a super-aged society has arrived, it is time for a distinct medical approach to treating elderly patients that goes beyond the limits of age.”
The hospital says that elderly patients who cannot achieve clear improvement with conservative treatment are especially satisfied with the results of surgical treatment. Cases include ▲a mother and son, where the son, in his late 70s, also decided on treatment after bringing in his mother, who is in her 90s ▲a husband and wife in their 80s who underwent surgery together — examples of families deciding on treatment together after seeing a relative's outcome.
The greatest strength of the dedicated geriatric care team is its integrated treatment process through a multidisciplinary care system. The team is built around the departments that treat the underlying condition directly, such as Neurosurgery and Orthopedics, with members drawn from Cardiology, Nephrology, Rehabilitation Medicine and elsewhere according to the patient's condition.
A tailored treatment plan is then drawn up for each patient following an assessment that includes the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) index. This takes into account the fact that elderly patients often need collaboration between departments because of reduced physical function and multiple conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, which also makes surgery more difficult.
The aim is to review whether surgery is feasible and how far treatment should extend, based on the patient's ability to eat and walk, cognitive function, level of consciousness and capacity for independent daily living, and then to provide the tailored medical care best suited to that patient.
What stands out in particular is an anesthesia system designed for elderly patients that minimizes side effects and improves safety. Director Yoon, Kangjun explained, “Anesthesia is a critical factor in surgery for elderly patients,” adding, “In surgery on elderly patients, anesthetic risk is higher than in ordinary adult patients because of the patient's condition, comorbidities and cardiovascular changes.”
Recovery and rehabilitation after surgery are equally important stages of treatment. Because muscle strength and balance are prone to decline before and after surgery in the very elderly, rehabilitative therapy must be carried out systematically as part of a continuum of care.
Accordingly, the hospital ensures that exercise therapy and pain relief therapy are always combined in line with each patient's condition and pace of recovery after surgery. In particular, after treatment for the spinal and joint disease or neurological disease that is common in elderly patients, tailored rehabilitation programs are provided with the goal of rapid functional recovery and fall prevention.
In addition, before discharge the hospital provides lifestyle guidance and medication education for patients and their carers and, where necessary, links them with community resources for continued management, so that patients can return safely and healthily to daily life after discharge.
He stressed, “Many elderly patients today want a healthy and independent later life, and quite a few are highly satisfied to find that real recovery through treatment is possible, beyond preconceptions about age,” adding, “Steadily accumulating genuine cases of successful treatment through this kind of communication and specialist experience is, I believe, the path to becoming the hospital that patients trust most.”
By Bae Ji-young Updated 2025.12.19 15:19 Issue 1000 Comments 0
A visit to St. Peter's Hospital's dedicated geriatric care team
Treatment plans for patients aged 80 and over are drawn up considering their physical and mental condition and social circumstances
Multidisciplinary care involving every relevant department, and an anesthesia system that minimizes side effects
Dr. Yang, Kyu Hyun (right), Orthopedics, St. Peter's Hospital, successfully treated a 100-year-old patient who was transferred after a hospital near their home judged surgery impossible because of their very advanced age, despite a femoral fracture sustained in a fall: he performed a closed reduction to realign the joint bones and then internal fixation using an intramedullary nail.
Dr. Yang, Kyu Hyun (right), Orthopedics, St. Peter's Hospital, successfully treated a 100-year-old patient who was transferred after a hospital near their home judged surgery impossible because of their very advanced age, despite a femoral fracture sustained in a fall: he performed a closed reduction to realign the joint bones and then internal fixation using an intramedullary nail.
[Baeksesidae = Reporter Bae, Ji Young] Once people reach later life, a patient's state of health cannot be explained by age or a particular disease alone. Of two people the same age of 75, one may enjoy exercising every day and keep up an active social life, while another barely gets through daily life under multiple chronic conditions and cognitive decline. An older person's health is determined by a complex interplay of physical function, mental state and social environment.
This change is clearly apparent in Korean clinical practice too, now that the country has entered a super-aged society. That is why 'geriatric-specialized hospitals', which address the physical, mental and social characteristics of older people rather than centering care on a single disease, are increasing in number.
The most notable feature of a hospital specializing in geriatric care is its integrated care system. Specialists from a range of departments work together, and nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and social workers form a team that designs care around each individual patient. This approach makes it possible to address all at once the polypharmacy, fall risk, cognitive decline, nutritional imbalance and social isolation that are common in elderly patients. Importantly, a management system that extends beyond inpatient treatment to connect with life after discharge plays a key role.
Against this backdrop, St. Peter's Hospital has drawn attention as the first community hospital to build a specialized model for elderly patients. To see specialized geriatric care in practice, this reporter visited St. Peter's Hospital in early December.
◇Planning from disease treatment through to after discharge
In March last year, St. Peter's Hospital launched a new 'dedicated geriatric care team' (TF) and set out to strengthen its specialized medical services for seniors. It was a pioneering treatment team in Korea dedicated to patients aged 80 and over.
Elderly patients with spine and joint conditions often shy away from treatment because they find surgery and recovery daunting. And even once treatment begins, weak physical reserves and chronic conditions do make it more difficult.
St. Peter's Hospital formed the dedicated team in order to reduce cases in which treatment is given up because of age, and to treat elderly patients more safely and systematically. The aim is to provide integrated care covering the entire process, from surgery through to rehabilitation and pain management.
Yoon, Kangjun, President of St. Peter's Hospital, explained: “A patient in their 90s who came to us with spinal stenosis once told me that the pain had been very hard to bear, but that people around them had often said, ‘just put up with it and live with the pain,’ on the grounds that surgery would be difficult and could be dangerous. That account was the decisive reason we formed the Elderly-Specialized Care Task Force. In fact the patient had a very strong will to recover, and the progress after surgery was excellent.”
In the year since the TF was launched last year, visits by elderly patients have indeed risen markedly. Patients aged 90 and over increased by as much as 20%, and in September a 100-year-old patient successfully underwent surgery for a femur fracture.
Director Yoon, Kangjun said, “I do not think it is right to limit the chance of recovery because of age, or to dismiss the pain and loss of function caused by disease as a natural part of ageing,” adding, “Now that a super-aged society has arrived, it is time for a distinct medical approach to treating elderly patients that goes beyond the limits of age.”
The hospital says that elderly patients who cannot achieve clear improvement with conservative treatment are especially satisfied with the results of surgical treatment. Cases include ▲a mother and son, where the son, in his late 70s, also decided on treatment after bringing in his mother, who is in her 90s ▲a husband and wife in their 80s who underwent surgery together — examples of families deciding on treatment together after seeing a relative's outcome.
The greatest strength of the dedicated geriatric care team is its integrated treatment process through a multidisciplinary care system. The team is built around the departments that treat the underlying condition directly, such as Neurosurgery and Orthopedics, with members drawn from Cardiology, Nephrology, Rehabilitation Medicine and elsewhere according to the patient's condition.
A tailored treatment plan is then drawn up for each patient following an assessment that includes the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) index. This takes into account the fact that elderly patients often need collaboration between departments because of reduced physical function and multiple conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, which also makes surgery more difficult.
The aim is to review whether surgery is feasible and how far treatment should extend, based on the patient's ability to eat and walk, cognitive function, level of consciousness and capacity for independent daily living, and then to provide the tailored medical care best suited to that patient.
What stands out in particular is an anesthesia system designed for elderly patients that minimizes side effects and improves safety. Director Yoon, Kangjun explained, “Anesthesia is a critical factor in surgery for elderly patients,” adding, “In surgery on elderly patients, anesthetic risk is higher than in ordinary adult patients because of the patient's condition, comorbidities and cardiovascular changes.”
Recovery and rehabilitation after surgery are equally important stages of treatment. Because muscle strength and balance are prone to decline before and after surgery in the very elderly, rehabilitative therapy must be carried out systematically as part of a continuum of care.
Accordingly, the hospital ensures that exercise therapy and pain relief therapy are always combined in line with each patient's condition and pace of recovery after surgery. In particular, after treatment for the spinal and joint disease or neurological disease that is common in elderly patients, tailored rehabilitation programs are provided with the goal of rapid functional recovery and fall prevention.
In addition, before discharge the hospital provides lifestyle guidance and medication education for patients and their carers and, where necessary, links them with community resources for continued management, so that patients can return safely and healthily to daily life after discharge.
He stressed, “Many elderly patients today want a healthy and independent later life, and quite a few are highly satisfied to find that real recovery through treatment is possible, beyond preconceptions about age,” adding, “Steadily accumulating genuine cases of successful treatment through this kind of communication and specialist experience is, I believe, the path to becoming the hospital that patients trust most.”