An interdisciplinary team on the Unit works with patients to keep them as physically and socially active as possible, offering physical therapy and nutrition along with a full complement of social activities and services. We encourage patients to participate in activities to the fullest extent possible, and to take an active role in their own care and recovery. Our patients not only "walk the halls," but also perform group exercises during the recovery phase of their hospitalization. With daily PALS (Program in Active Life for Seniors) sessions, a joint project of the ACE staff and the Department of Volunteer Services, communal meals, group discussions, music, mentally challenging games, and other activities play a large role in patients' physical and emotional well-being, preserving social contact and skills through peer interaction. The ACE Unit also offers expanded discharge planning services, social support for patients' families, and, when appropriate, end-of-life planning.

The ACE Unit also functions as an educational training site in geriatric medicine for our medical students, residents, and fellows. Monthly orientation/education sessions for house staff involving the interdisciplinary team include such topics as the role of each interdisciplinary team member, referral mechanisms, team communication, and the overall function and goals of the ACE Unit. Ongoing education for nursing staff and other interdisciplinary team members on topics related to the acute care of the elderly is also a feature of the ACE Unit.

Continuing goals for the ACE Unit include not only maintaining and maximizing patients' functional capacity during the course of hospitalization, but discharging patients to their previous living arrangements when at all feasible. In addition, the ACE Unit continues to maintain a restraint-free safe environment for patients through the use of alternative techniques.