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Elderly hospital patients have ample exposure to situations and procedures that may increase their pressure ulcer risk. The aims of this study were to estimate the incidence of hospital‐acquired pressure ulcers in elderly medical patients and to determine whether the risk of pressure ulcers is associated with longer emergency department (ED) stays, lengthy procedures in the ED, or use of immobilizing restraints, medications, or devices in the ED. The study cohort was made up of 3,233 patients aged 65 or over admitted through the EDs of two Philadelphia hospitals. Sixty‐five percent of subjects were aged 80 or more, 61% were female, and 69% were Black. The incidence of hospital‐acquired pressure ulcers on Day 3 of the hospital stay, as ascertained by direct skin examination, was 6.2%. There were 266 hospital‐acquired pressure ulcers among 201 patients (mean per patient 1.3 pressure ulcers) 27% of the …