039 – Interview: Creating Age-Friendly Health Systems

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Amy Berman, RN, about a major new initiative to create “age-friendly health systems.” Amy is a Senior Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), which focuses on improving the health of older adults. They discuss:

• Four goals of an age-friendly health system
• The four “Ms” that an age-friendly health system should address: what matters, mentation, mobility, and medications
• Why delirium prevention is such an important part of addressing mentation
• How the age-friendly health systems initiative builds on proven models of better care for older adults
• How JAHF and its partners are planning to develop and expand age-friendly health systems
• How older adults and families can find age-friendly care
• 10 benefits you can expect from age-friendly health systems

Related episodes: 

019 – Interview: How Foundations Are Improving Health & Aging
025 – Interview: Palliative Care to Live Well with Cancer

Related Resources:

• Age-Friendly Health Systems: How Do We Get There? (HealthAffairs.org)
• New Grants Totaling $5.5 Million Begin Charting a Course to Age-Friendly Health Systems (John A Hartford Foundation)
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement: Creating Age-Friendly Health Systems
• How Health Systems Can Provide Better Care For Seniors
• If ACE Units Are So Great, Why Aren’t They Everywhere?