/ en Sun, 15 Jun 2025 04:33:11 -0500 Fri, 16 May 25 15:00:00 -0500 /center/age-friendly-health-systems/pathways-selection-tool Fri, 16 May 2025 15:00:00 -0500 Older Adults /news/headline/2025-05-14-aha-podcast-improving-behavioral-health-older-adults-lessons-henry-ford-health <p>Zaira Khalid, M.D., senior staff geriatric psychiatrist at Henry Ford Behavioral Health Hospital, discusses the unique physical, emotional and social needs of patients over 65, the hospital’s compassionate and multidisciplinary approach to whole-person care, and how to recognize the silent struggles of older loved ones and provide support. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2025-05-14-improving-behavioral-health-older-adults-lessons-henry-ford-health"><strong>LISTEN NOW </strong></a></p> Wed, 14 May 2025 16:06:01 -0500 Older Adults /news/headline/2025-05-07-report-more-7-million-americans-living-alzheimers <p>An estimated 7.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, according to the latest annual <a href="https://www.alz.org/getmedia/ef8f48f9-ad36-48ea-87f9-b74034635c1e/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the Alzheimer's Association. Nearly two-thirds of those with the disease are women. About 1 in 9 people (11%) aged 65 and older has Alzheimer’s. The disease was the seventh-leading cause of death across all ages in the U.S. in 2022, the most recent year final mortality data is available.</p> Wed, 07 May 2025 15:58:24 -0500 Older Adults /infographic-realities-behavioral-health-older-adults <div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>The ���������� Association has a long-standing commitment to support member efforts to deliver high-quality, accessible behavioral health services to patients of all ages. However, older adults can have circumstances that exacerbate the challenges to accessing behavioral health care, such as physical health decline, loss of loved ones and social isolation. Download and explore this resource to learn more about the challenges and how hospitals can enhance support older adults’ behavioral health.</p><p class="text-align-center"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/older-adult-behavioral-health-infographic.pdf" download="file" target="_blank"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/older-adult-behavioral-health-infographic-cover.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Infographic: The Realities of Behavioral Health in Older Adults page 1" width="667" height="862"></a></p><p class="text-align-center"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/older-adult-behavioral-health-infographic.pdf" download="file" target="_blank"><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-05/older-adult-behavioral-health-infographic-p2.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Infographic: The Realities of Behavioral Health in Older Adults page 2" width="667" height="861"></a></p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p class="text-align-center"><a class="btn btn-primary btn-wide" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/older-adult-behavioral-health-infographic.pdf" target="_blank" title="click here to download Infographic: The Realities of Behavioral Health in Older Adults">Download Infographic</a></p></div></div> Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:56:29 -0500 Older Adults /role-hospitals-university-vermont-medical-center-innovative-procedure-game-changer-older-adults-heart-valve-disease <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/THS-UVM-hazel-winter-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Hazel Winter, 82, underwent the tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) procedure at UVM Medical Center" width="700" height="532"></p><p><em>Hazel Winter (Photo Courtesy of UVM Medical Center)</em></p></div><p>An innovative, minimally invasive procedure is reducing the risk faced by patients with heart valve disease and improving their quality of life. During the tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) procedure, surgeons use a clip to repair a leaky heart valve. The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington is currently the only hospital in the state that offers TEER and among the most experienced performing the procedure among health systems in the region.</p><p>Heart valve disease — which occurs when at least one heart valve isn’t working properly — affects more than 5 million people in the U.S., according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/php/data-research/heart-valve-disease-toolkit/index.html" target="_blank">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. Symptoms include fatigue, swelling in the legs, shortness of breath and irregular heart rhythms. Older adults in particular are at risk for this condition, which can lead to heart failure.</p><p>A blog on the UVM Health website, “<a href="https://www.uvmhealth.org/healthsource/wheelchair-walking" target="_blank">From Wheelchair to Walking</a>,” features the story of Hazel Winter, 82, who had a minor stroke and was being treated at the UVM Medical Center emergency department, where clinicians discovered she had tricuspid valve regurgitation, a condition where the valve allows blood to leak backward into the heart.</p><p>Winter was one of the first patients in the region to undergo TEER. Before this procedure was developed, the only options for patients were undergoing open-heart surgery or living with a condition that significantly reduces their quality of life. Winter marveled at how much better she felt after the procedure: “I arrived by wheelchair, and I’m planning on walking out of here …. I can’t believe the difference this had made for me already. It’s a game changer.”</p><p>Rony Lahoud, M.D., interventional cardiologist at UVM Medical Center, observed, “To watch people go home the very next day and immediately feel the difference — that’s the kind of outcome you aspire to have.” He lauded the medical center’s multidisciplinary teamwork to develop this innovative treatment: “Pushing the boundaries of what is possible requires true collaboration between different specialties, including interventional cardiology, advanced cardiac imaging, cardiac anesthesia and cardiothoracic surgery, among others.”</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.uvmhealth.org/healthsource/wheelchair-walking" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:14:07 -0500 Older Adults /role-hospitals-virtual-singing-walking-groups-dartmouth-healths-programs-older-adults-enhance-health <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/stc-dartmouth-aging-resource-center-700x532.png" alt="Dartmouth Health. A female art teacher stands talking to an older woman seated at a craft table" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>Food for Your Soul: Reading Poetry Together. Get Hooked on Walking. Virtual Morning Sing. How to Eat to Improve Our Resilience to Stress. These classes are among hundreds offered by the Dartmouth Health Aging Resource Center in Lebanon, N.H., each year.</p><p>The Aging Resource Center, part of the health system’s Geriatric Center of Excellence, offers free educational classes, support and services to improve the minds, bodies and spirits of older adults and their families. Programs and support groups are held in person and virtually.</p><p>Older adults can take a class or series of classes to improve their balance, get help using their iPhone, participate in a morning virtual sing or in-person singing group, write poetry, learn strategies for coping with symptoms of chronic disease and get tips for eating healthy when money is tight — and much more. In addition, they can access the Aging Resource Center to simply relax, read, browse the internet or enjoy exhibits by local artists who also are older adults.</p><p>The center also hosts a Memory Café for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, which is organized by Dartmouth medical students and an attending physician. The café provides social, cognitive and physical activities for patients, including live music, arts and crafts, and chair exercises, and offers informational sessions for caregivers.</p><p>One older adult with Parkinson’s disease noted, “We often feel like we’re on our own fighting the progression of this disease. We’re excited to have access to this support group and are looking forward to attending future sessions.”</p><p>A Food for Your Soul program participant observed, “Reading and discussing poetry biweekly lifts our spirits and engages our minds and emotions in new, challenging and inspiring ways.”</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/aging-resource-center" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/center/population-health">Improving Health and Wellness</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:10:53 -0500 Older Adults /role-hospitals-elizabethtown-community-hospitals-community-friendship-volunteer-program-helps-reduce-social-isolation-among <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-04/ths-elizabethtown-senior-friendship-volunteer-700x532.jpg" alt="Elizabethtown Community Hospital. A young female caregiver helps an elderly woman shop in a grocery store" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>Loneliness and social isolation are a growing public health concern. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office released “<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf" target="_blank">Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community</a>.” The report highlights data showing that loneliness is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death. The highest rates of social isolation are found among adults age 65 or older.</p><p>To reduce social isolation and loneliness among older adults and help improve their health and well-being, Elizabethtown (N.Y.) Community Hospital launched the Community Friendship Volunteer Program in fall 2024. Developed with Mercy Care for the Adirondacks, a nonprofit organization that provides support services for seniors, the program pairs older adults with volunteers who provide companionship and support, but not clinical assistance. All volunteers must complete an application and background check.</p><p>“Too often seniors in our community experience social isolation and loneliness, and this can have drastic effects on their health,” <a href="https://www.ech.org/News/Detail/94" target="_blank">observes Julie Tromblee</a>, vice president and chief nursing officer at Elizabethtown Community Hospital, part of the University of Vermont Health Network.</p><p>Program volunteers visit older adults at their home or talk by telephone and may assist with correspondence and with shopping or other errands. Together, a volunteer and older adult may plan outings, enjoy music and literature, and participate in crafts, gardening or other activities. Families, friends and older adults themselves can request a volunteer match, and all services are free.</p><p>The hospital is part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative and views its volunteer program as complementary support. “The AFHS and Community Friendship Volunteer Program help ensure that we are supporting seniors both here at the hospital and in their own home,” Tromblee said.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.ech.org/About-Us/Community-Friendship-Volunteer-Program" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/center/population-health">Improving Health and Wellness</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Mon, 07 Apr 2025 13:04:38 -0500 Older Adults /news/headline/2025-01-28-study-dementia-cases-estimated-double-2060 <p>Dementia cases in the U.S. are expected to double by 2060, reaching 1 million new cases per year, according to a <a href="https://nyulangone.org/news/united-states-dementia-cases-estimated-double-2060">study</a> released Jan. 13 by NYU Langone Health. The study found that the risk of developing dementia any time after age 55 is 42%, more than double the risk reported in prior studies. The study authors attributed previous underestimates of dementia risk to unreliable documentation in health records and on death certificates, minimal surveillance of early-stage dementia cases and underreporting of cases by race. </p> Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:53:13 -0600 Older Adults /case-studies/2024-01-31-case-study-integrating-age-friendly-care-geriatric-emergency-department <p>An interdisciplinary team at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, Calif., has effectively integrated age-friendly care in its busy emergency department, which also is recognized as a <a href="https://www.acep.org/geda" target="_blank">GEDA (Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation)</a>  Gold Level 1 facility.</p><p>By prioritizing data collection and analysis and addressing quality of life, care goals and caregiver strain, the hospital has decreased readmissions for patients age 65 and older, improved job satisfaction and retention among nurses, and achieved other positive outcomes. The team is now collaborating to share best practices and standardize guidelines of care for older adult patients across the health system.</p> Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:06:37 -0600 Older Adults /news/headline/2023-07-31-cms-announces-medicare-part-b-dementia-care-model <p>The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today <a href="https://innovation.cms.gov/innovation-models/guide">announced</a> the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, a voluntary national Medicare payment model beginning next July that aims to help dementia patients remain at home and improve quality of life for them and their caregivers. Participating Medicare Part B providers and suppliers will receive a monthly per-beneficiary amount for providing care management and coordination and caregiver education and support services. Certain safety net providers in the new program track will be eligible for a one-time, lump sum infrastructure payment to support program development activities. CMS is accepting <a href="https://app1.innovation.cms.gov/GUIDELOI/s/">letters of interest</a> through Sept. 15 and plans to release a request for applications this fall. <br />  </p> Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:01:00 -0500 Older Adults