Transforming Care for Older Adults

As an active participant in the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement since 2021, I am excited to announce that Village Medical at Home has achieved special recognition as an Age-Friendly Health Systems — Committed to Care Excellence by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

As an Age-Friendly Health System, our focus is on making sure that every interaction between our Village Medical at Home care team and our older adult patients is aligned with their goals, needs and preferences. This is done using the "4Ms Framework," a set of four essential elements designed to optimize care for our older patients.

This distinction requires us to work toward a reliable practice of a set of four evidence-based elements of high-quality care for all our older adult patients called the Geriatric 4Ms that include:

• What Matters – Care begins by understanding and honoring the individual preferences, goals, and values of our patients. This includes talking with them about what brings meaning to their lives and creating a Stay Well Care Plan to reflect their choices.
  
  
• Medication – Medications are carefully reviewed to make sure they don’t have serious side effects that may jeopardize our older patient’s mobility, cognition or independence.
  
  
• Mind – Screening our older patients for dementia, depression and delirium allows for early intervention and can help improve the daily quality of life for them.
  
  
• Mobility – Maintaining mobility is crucial for helping our older patients prevent falls, preserve their independence, and improve their overall well-being. Age-friendly care focuses on reviewing their home for fall hazards and assisting our older patients in staying physically active and tailoring care plans to support their safe mobility.

Click here to learn more about the 4Ms.

Older adults are continuing to make up an increasingly significant proportion of healthcare consumers. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative encourages a more holistic and patient-centered approach to the care of our older patients. By implementing the 4Ms, we are working to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, minimize medication side effects, and improve the overall quality of life for our older patients.

Our Village Medical at Home care team is proud to join the ranks of organizations globally achieving success toward excellence in care for older adults and to reimaging how we care for older adults

The Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the US (CHA). For more information, visit www.ihi.org/agefriendly.