The Mobile Acute Care for the Elderly (MACE) team was first established as the Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment Unit (GETU) in 1983 to help manage care for elderly patients while they are in the hospital and to ensure safe, seamless continuity of care from hospital to home. Renamed the Mobile Acute Care for the Elderly team it is a specialized, interdisciplinary service that includes an attending geriatrician, geriatrics fellow, nurse coordinator, pharmacist and social worker providing state-of-the-art care for frail elderly patients who are hospitalized with acute illnesses and complex needs. It is a "center of excellence" for the care of common treatable and potentially reversible medical problems, with the goal of having patients return to the community at their prior level of functioning. Our aim is to help patients avoid the hazards of hospitalization that typically result from being bed bound and physically isolated. These well described hazards include muscle weakness and walking skill deterioration, which lead to the inability to care for oneself and loss of independence, along with social and emotional detachment that can sap the motivation to work on regaining strength.