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During Vincent Quasarano’s March 30 visit to Sharp Grossmont Hospital’s emergency department in La Mesa, the experience may have been different than previous trips to the hospital.
The 85-year-old patient was offered a voice amplifying device by registered nurse
Michelle Christensen, then asked a series of questions to see if he could recall his name, the date and a series of words. She pointed to various objects in the room asking Quasarano what they were, accompanied him during a short walk down the hall, and inquired what his home life was like.
Christensen assigned to the department as a geriatric emergency medicine or GEM specialist found Quasarano to be cognitively aware and able to participate in the assessment. The test doesn’t always go as well for all patients.