Editor’s Note: Today, we welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ellen Goodman, co-founder and director of The Conversation Project, to Health AGEnda. The Conversation Project is part of a $3.5 million John A. Hartford Foundation grant approved in March supporting an exciting collaborative of six practitioners who will work cooperatively to expand…
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My 77-year old father underwent surgery two years ago and I recall how frightening it was for him, my mother, and our entire family. Unfortunately, our fear was realized when he had a terrible post-operative infection that sent him to the emergency room and on to a follow-up surgery. Sadly…
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Click image to view or download a PDF of the state-by-state report. In health care, as in so much of life, where you live matters. Understanding geographic variation in health care has long been a useful tool for targeting our attention and making improvements where we need them most…
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For more than a decade, support for evidence-based programs that improve care for older adults has grown consistently—though perhaps not as quickly as many advocates would like. The reason is that evidence-based interventions—backed by research that demonstrates their effectiveness—are the gold standard for care. Studies have shown that older adults…
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About a year ago, we posted a holiday gift for you—a Tools You Can Use blog that featured a free toolkit with evidence-based resources for staff in senior living communities promoting non-pharmacologic strategies to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. We got a lot of response to that post…
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We were introduced to Sally and her daughter Edna last year in a video from our grantee Community Catalyst. I learned recently that Sally has since passed away, but I am so grateful that her and her daughter’s story lives on. It embodies the promise of the Voices for Better…
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Many of the John A. Hartford Foundation’s grant projects are working hard to improve the quality of health care for the older adults who are dually enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. As a group, these low-income, older adults have more complex health conditions and a greater need for coordinated…
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The most potent risk factor for heart disease is aging, according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC). Given how rapidly our population is aging, that’s sobering news indeed, especially when you consider that clinical practice guidelines rarely apply to older adults with multiple chronic conditions. That means regardless of…
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Let’s say you are 80 years old and about to undergo surgery. Perhaps it was an unexpected fall that placed you in the emergency department and you’ll need an orthopedic surgeon to repair your hip. You’ll undergo anesthesia during the procedure and afterwards will likely require rehab. All of the…
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Dr. Timothy W. Farrell, right, from the video series depicting a patient undergoing transitions of care across different locations of care. It happens all too often: Older adults “fall through the cracks” of the health care system. They fall victim to bad transitions of care due to a host…
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