Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care

Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care is a grant-funded project by The John A. Hartford Foundation that seeks increased adoption of age-friendly care in ambulatory specialty practices—outpatient settings where many older adults receive care from specialists.

As the shift from hospitals to ambulatory care for older adults continues, there is an opportunity to incorporate evidence-based age-friendly approaches into ambulatory care. The use of the 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility) in ambulatory specialty care settings is critical in ensuring evidence-based age-friendly care is provided to older adults, especially those with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations.

Program Details:  

CMSS will develop, launch, and monitor a competitive grant program for a diverse set of specialty societies to support the development of resources focused on building 4Ms and age-friendly care practices into ambulatory-based specialty and subspecialty care.

The age-friendly implementation awards to selected societies will support the development, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based age-friendly 4M resources and programs tailored for specialty-specific ambulatory care practice. 5-7 specialty societies will each work with up to 10 specialty practices to implement and evaluate the incorporation of the 4Ms into specialty practice.

In addition to the selection and provision of awards to selected societies, CMSS will serve as a coordinating center to monitor and promote cross-specialty learning, improvement, and collaboration on the use of 4Ms and connect ambulatory practices to Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) action communities for ongoing engagement.

Press Release:

Read the Press Release

Contact:  

Suzanne Pope, MBA, Senior Advisor

Yodit Berhan, MPH, Program Coordinator

Advisory Committee

  • Christina Boccuti

    VP for Health Security
    AARP Health Care Strategy Leadership

  • Cecilia Canales, MD

    Assistant Professor, Anesthesia
    University of California Los Angeles

  • Carolyn Clancy, MD, MACP

    Assistant Under Secretary for Health, Discovery, Education & Affiliate Networks
    Veterans Health Administration

  • Timothy W. Farrell, MD, AGSF

    Professor of Medicine, Geriatrics Division, Associate Chief for Age-Friendly Care
    VA Salt Lake City Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center

  • Nancy Lundebjerg

    Chief Executive Officer
    American Geriatrics Society

  • Kedar Mate, MD

    Founder & CMO, Qualified Health
    President Emeritus, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

  • Cheryl Phillips, MD (ex-officio)

    Senior Program Consultant 
    The John A. Hartford Foundation

  • Harold Pincus, MD

    Co-Director, Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research; Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Health Policy and Management; National Program Director, Health and Aging Policy Fellowship
    Columbia University

  • Daisy Smith, MD, FACP

    Chief Membership and Engagement Officer
    American College of Physicians

  • Nana A. Y. Twum-Danso, MD, MPH, FACPM

    Chief Impact Officer
    Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Acknowledgement:  

The Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care project is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation, as part of a financial assistance award to the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS). The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. The leader in the field of aging and health, the Foundation has three areas of emphasis: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. 

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