The protocols in this thoroughly updated edition address key clinical conditions and circumstances likely to be encountered by a hospital nurse caring for older adults. They represent "best practices" for acute care of the elderly as developed by nursing experts around the country as part of the Hartford Foundation's Nurses Improving Care to the Hospitalized Elderly project (NICHE). New to this edition are chapters on evaluating practice guidelines and measuring quality and outcome of care. Although the protocols were developed for acute care, they can be easily modified to work in other practice settings, such as the nursing home or home care.