AdventHealth Hendersonville Achieves New Designation in National Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative

N.C., September 17, 2020 — AdventHealth Hendersonville Achieves New Designation in National

Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative

September 17, 2020; HENDERSONVILLE, NC – AdventHealth Hendersonville is excited to announce it has reached a new designation with the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has designated the AdventHealth Medical Group locations across Western North Carolina as Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence. The IHI recognizes the care teams at these locations for their commitment to care of older adults that is guided by an essential set of Age-Friendly, evidence-based practices, causes no harm, and is consistent with the What Matters focus for older adults and their families.

Earlier this year, AdventHealth announced its participation in a movement to improve health care for older adults and helping contribute to the goal of having 20% of US hospitals and health systems become Age-Friendly by 2020. AdventHealth Hendersonville is the first health system in North Carolina to be designated as an Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative Participant and now the first to be recognized as Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence.

As part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, The John A. Hartford Foundation and the IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, are helping hospitals and other care settings implement a set of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.

The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is based on a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients:

• What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult's specific health outcome goals and care preferences, including but not limited to end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
• Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medications that do not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care.
• Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care.
• Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.

Board-certified geriatrician Anna Hicks, MD, is the Physician Champion for Age-Friendly Initiatives at AdventHealth Hendersonville. “The care teams across AdventHealth have created a seamless blend of addressing the social determinants of health and wellness for older adults with their promise of whole-person care and the end result is patients and their families knowing that they are valued and they have a voice in their care that will be heard.”

The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in 2017 by The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI with a commitment to make 20% of hospitals and health systems in the United States age-friendly by 2020.

For more information, visit AdventHealthNC.com/Age-Friendly.