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  • Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative

    • Age-Friendly Health Systems

    Join the movement to make your health system age-friendly

    || Also visit our Age-Friendly Care page for Older Adults and Family Caregivers ||

    Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative

    We all deserve safe, evidence-based health care focused on what matters to us as we get older. That's age-friendly care.

    Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the​ Catholic Health Association of the United States.

    It's a movement helping hospitals, medical practices, retail pharmacy clinics, nursing homes, home-care providers and others deliver age-friendly care.

    What is an Age-Friendly Health System?


    Age-Friendly Health Systems:

    • Follow an essential set of evidence-based practices in a framework known as the 4Ms;
    • Cause no harm; and
    • Align with What Matters to the older adult and their family caregivers.​

    In an Age-Friendly Health System, value is optimized for all — patients, families, caregivers, health care providers, and the overall system.


    The 4Ms of Age-Friendly Care:

    Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS)

    Health care teams can join a free, seven-month learning collaboratives to learn about, test and adopt the 4Ms Framework in their care setting.
    The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) will facilitate the next Action Community beginning in March 2026. Learn more and join.

    Age-Friendly Health Systems

    Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA)
    Emergency departments that meet standards for age-friendly ED care can receive accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians.
    The related Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative provides training and education on standards related to the GEDA program.

    Geriatric ED Accreditation

    Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV):
    Hospitals that meet standards for age-friendly surgical care can be verified through this program of the American College of Surgeons.
    Teams can learn more and access a webinar, case study, and more resources on how GSV can help your hospital improve care and comply with the new CMS measure.

      Geriatric Surgery Verification

      Watch a Video on the 4Ms of Age-Friendly Care

      Watch a short video - shown at the 2024 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo - on how better care for older adults starts with the 4Ms of Age-Friendly care: what Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility.

      WebMD Videos: Watch Age-Friendly Care in Action


      A university health center

      WebMD visits Madsen Health Center in Utah, a great example of an age-friendly care provider that considers all of the 4Ms to really understand the patient.

      A retail pharmacy clinic

      When providers ask about a patient’s goals, medications, memory and mobility, they feel heard, says nurse practitioner Sidney Hunt of MinuteClinic at CVS.

      A Veterans Affairs medical center

      Arthur’s providers at the VA in Salt Lake City are working to get him back to his favorite pastime – fishing in Alaska.

       

      This map shows hospitals, practices, nursing homes and other health care sites recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement:

      5,916 Health Care Sites Recognized as Age-Friendly Health Systems

      Rapid Growth

      IHI has recognized 5,916 hospitals, practices and long-term care organizations as Age-Friendly Health Systems Participants and Committed to Care Excellence as of April 2026. A spreadsheet of all recognized Age-Friendly Health Systems across levels, including addresses, is available on the IHI website.

      Age-Friendly Health Systems action communities, led by IHI and AHA, test the 4Ms Framework in hospital and ambulatory settings, sharing learnings in a virtual community.

      Join the Movement

      The next Action Community, led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), starts spring 2026. Learn more and sign up.

      More information on other ways to join the movement can be found at IHI.org/AgeFriendly.

      Resources:

      For further IHI Age-Friendly Health Systems resources, go to IHI.org/AgeFriendly

      For one page JAHF quick links, go to Age-Friendly Care Quick Links: Resources for Health Systems, EDs and Surgical Units

      What We're Learning

      Other articles include:

      For more publications and news coverage, go to IHI's age-friendly resources page.
      Watch       Kedar Mate, MD, talk about his grandmother and age-friendly care.

      Age-Friendly Health Systems Survey

      WebMD and JAHF published a consumer survey report of older adults, "Driving Toward Age-Friendly Care for the Future." The survey asked 2,700+ older adults and family caregivers about age-friendly health systems, and their attitudes to and experiences with the “4Ms” of care—the essential set of elements that systems need to address for older adults: what matters, medication, mentation, and mobility. Data were segmented by sex, race/ethnicity, and chronic conditions, as well as other factors.

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