Firelands Regional Medical Center part of national age-friendly initiative

Firelands Regional Medical Center part of national age-friendly initiative

Firelands Regional Medical Center (FRMC) announced it is part of a nationwide movement, called the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, to improve healthcare for older adults. FRMC is one of nine Ohio hospitals recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System.

"Our age-friendly focus tailors care to our patients, and that's why we are participating in this vital movement. We look forward to both sharing our best practices and learning what's working for others, providing age-friendly care," said Melissa Fries, director of care management, Firelands Health. "Data is being gathered from an international group of more than 5,200 hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, home health agencies and primary and specialty care settings."

The initiative is based on the 4Ms, 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 in​clu​ding, 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 to maintain function and do What Matters.

"This movement has the potential to create a new standard of care for older adults, which will greatly benefit our aging population," said Jenna Recker, accreditation and regulatory project coordinator, Firelands Health.

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.