Age-Friendly Health System

What Is It?

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement(IHI) in collaboration with the John H. Harford Foundation have implemented an age-friendly health system recognition that any hospital can achieve. To be considered age-friendly, the health system must demonstrate the ability to identify the 4M’s in their patient population.

4M’s

• What Matters – In collaboration with the patient and the family, our providers help identify goals and guide healthcare preferences thus capturing what matters. Once our providers know what matters, then they can adjust medication and determine mentation and mobility aiming to achieve what’s most important to the patient.
• Medication – Our providers review the medications the patients are currently prescribed. Our focus is to avoid sedatives, sleep agents, and any medications listed on the Beers List (medications not advised for older adults).
• Mentation – Our providers assess patients for their cognitive status and manage dementia, depression, and/or delirium as appropriate.
• Mobility – Our providers determine the safety of our patients via ensuring safe movements with daily activities to maintain function for what matters.

Our Progress

As part of a provider visit with our team, we will address the 4M’s. Our team also actively participates on committees within the health system to advocate for our patients, such as being vital members of the Falls Committee. We continue to share the 4M’s with our community partners in efforts to obtain a health system across the county that is considered “age-friendly.”