Discharge destination from an acute care for the elderly (ACE) unit

Older adults age 65 and over account for a disproportional number of hospital stays and discharges compared to other age groups. The objective of this paper is to describe placement and characteristics of older patients discharged from an acute care for the elderly (ACE) unit. The study sample consists of 1,351 men and women aged 65 years or older that were discharged from the ACE Unit during a 12-month period. The mean number of discharges per month was 109.2 +/- 28.4. Most of the subjects were discharged home or home with home health 841, 62.3%. The oldest elderly and patients who had been admitted from long-term care institutions or from skilled nursing facilities to the ACE unit were less likely to return to home.