New Emergency Rooms Designed To Give Baby Boomers The Highest Level Of Care

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- A new trend in emergency rooms has been established to give the elderly the highest level of care possible.

Patients at Mt. Sinai Hospital told CBS 2's John Slattery on Wednesday that the emergency room has grown by leaps and bounds over the last year and a half. It was designed as a special "geriatric emergency room" for baby boomers who have entered their mid-60s.

"It's very different from what it was a year and a half ago...in a very good way," said Susan Wells.

The hospital commissioned a mural on the ceiling with artificial skylights. The skylights were designed to change with the time of day.

"It actually prevents sundowning. When they wake up, they know if it's day time or night-time, which encourages good sleep," said Dr. Kevin Baumlin.

Other changes that were made to the Mt. Sinai Emergency Room include non-skid floors, wall railings, quiet monitors, and iPads designed to give patients a touch of technology.

"It's an innovation that allows patients to see and talk with a nurse, ask for food or medicine, or play music," explained Baumlin.

A driving factor behind the upgrades was the importance of customer satisfaction surveys. In all, 25 percent of emergency room patients are over 65, and the results of the surveys play a role in determining how much Medicare money hospitals will receive.

The Mt. Sinai ER was modeled after the one at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.

What other upgrades would you like to see at your local hospital? Let us know in our comments section below...