If a senior neighbor, parent or grandparent were to suffer a serious trauma, like a heart attack or stroke, there is no better place for them than the hospital. The acute care expertise that begins with the emergency responder can drastically change the outcome of a health crisis.

While hospitals provide vital acute care to older adults who are admitted, research also indicates that the hospital environment can contribute to accelerated functional decline in elderly patients. Seniors are being admitted in droves, as persons aged 65 and over accounted for nearly 39 percent of hospitalizations in the United States in 2010 while comprising only 13 percent of the overall population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  And African-American seniors aged 65 and over are hospitalized at above-average rates.