FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sonoma Valley Hospital Participates in National ‘Age-Friendly Health Systems’ Initiative
November 10, 2023 — Sonoma Valley Hospital announced that it is part of a movement to improve health care for older adults, contributing to a goal continuing to expand and grow Age-Friendly care. As part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, 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, are helping hospitals and other care settings implement a set of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.
The interventions can be tested and adapted by participating in Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Communities. These collaborative initiatives bring together health care teams committed to sharing data and learning together. All teams strive toward reliably implementing age-friendly best practices across emergency departments, intensive care units, medical-surgical units, and primary and specialty care settings.
Sonoma Valley Hospital now joins an international group of health systems working to tailor care to patients’ goals and preferences and to deliver care that is consistently of the highest quality.
“SVH has always been on the forefront of patient care, 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 Becky Spear, Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, SVH. “The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an important part of our overarching vision to provide every older adult in Sonoma Valley with the best care possible.”
The initiative is based on 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 including, 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 in order to maintain function and do What Matters.
The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in 2017 by The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and Catholic Health Association of the US. For more information, visit www.ihi.org/agefriendly.
For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
Dawn Castelli
Manager, Community Outreach & Marketing
Sonoma Valley Hospital
Phone: 707.931.9206 Email: dcastelli@sonomavalleyhospital.org