Relative mortality of chronically ill geriatric patients with organic brain damage, before and after relocation.

Elderly patients in whom mental impairment is associated with organic brain damage (chronic brain syndrome) usually bear a higher mortality risk than do other sick geriatric patients, especially under the stress of relocation. When Ste. Anne's Hospital moved, the patients with chronic brain syndrome had the highest mortality rate during the following year. Apparently these brain-damaged subjects failed to cope with the situation until it became real (after relocation). Thus, in a stress prevention program adopted when a geriatric institution plans to move, special attention should be paid to the subpopulation with chronic brain syndrome in the period immediately following the relocation.

The application of a Poisson model to the annual distribution of daily mortality at six Montreal hospitals.

The daily distributions of annual mortality for varying numbers of years between 1965 and 1975 were investigated in three geriatric hospitals and three general hospitals in the Montreal area. Nearly all the observed mortality distributions were found to mimic the classical Poisson distribution, with little departure. In two of the larger hospitals, the matching of the daily mortality distributions with their Poisson models met stringent statistical criteria. In one of them it was even possible to predict the expected mortality frequencies merely from a knowledge of the annual totals. The remaining four hospitals, which included the three geriatric institutions, also exhibited mortalities regarded as highly suggestive of Poisson distributions, although in one of the geriatric hospitals the mortality distribution tended to be somewhat erratic in this respect.

Mortality fluctuations among chronically ill medical geriatric patients as an indicator of stress before and after relocation.

The effects of mass transfer of a sick geriatric population of war veterans were evaluated to determine the resultant change in mortality. A comparison of mortality patterns by months during this interval made over a six-year period, centered around the month of the move, July 1971. Analysis of the mortality fluctuations in the 24-month interval surrounding the move indicated that the course of mortality during this interval was periodic, with four distinguishable phases making up the complete cycle. An attempt was made to link stress-inducing events before, during and after the relocation with the ensuing mortality. It is important to use planned, low-key, stress-prevention measures and continue them for some time after the move, to offset adverse mortality effects from anticipatory anxiety and from the postrelocation release of anxiety-generated stress.

Effects of relocation on chronically ill geriatric patients of a medical unit: mortality rates.

The entire general medical unit of Ste. Anne's Hospital for disabled elderly veterans was moved into a new modern building on July 13, 1971. Roughly, about 350 patients were involved. In anticipation of the move, a program of preparation of the patients was organized to prevent if possible the dramatic increases in the mortality rate reported in some earlier studies of relocated geriatric populations. The principal finding with regard to mortality was a significant decrease of 6.82 per cent after the relocation when compared with mortality rate for the previous year. The highly appreciated air-conditioning system in the new building, representative of modern improvements, may have helped to a minor degree. A much more important factor was the well organized program for preparation of the patients, skillfully carried out by a conscientious staff.