The activity was carried out within the framework of the prompt implementation of the Acute Geriatric Unit in the main health facility of the regional capital.

As the beginning of the implementation of the elderly care protocol, which will grant preferential treatment to those over 60 years of age in the Serenense healthcare facility, the training carried out by the nurse was cataloged. Mg. Carmen Retamal, academic from the Nursing Department of the University of La Serena, which was aimed at personnel from the La Serena health service.

“This new approach to care is centered on the elderly person seen as a subject of rights and not as an object of care. The care system is changing, since we have to evolve to one that is born from the needs of the person, and for that it is essential to know the other," said the academic from the house of studies regarding the implementation of the new care unit.

For his part, the director of the regional hospital, Edgardo González, maintained that "older people have multiple pathologies, they must consume more than 5 medications daily, they suffer loss of functionality, among other factors that condition their dependence on care, therefore that the attention to them must be specialized and differentiated, this is an act of justice and a right, since they contributed a lifetime of work to the country.”  

Completing this training will allow hospital officials to be better prepared to care for older people, providing a service focused on communication and empathy with their patients, which is considered vital in the care of older adults.

The La Serena health service thanked the academic for her contribution, highlighting the contribution that her work will mean in providing better hospital care to elderly people, an age group that exceeds 3% of the country's population. .