Implementation of the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative in the Department of Veterans Affairs: 5 years of improving quality for older veterans

Implementation of the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative in the Department of Veterans Affairs: 5 years of improving quality for older veterans
INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing; by Andrea Wershof Schwartz, Shivani K. Jindal, Kimberly A. Wozneak, Robert E. Burke; 9/25
The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative (AFHS) was developed to spread principles of high-quality care for older adults using the 4Ms Framework: What Matters, Medications, Mentation and Mobility. In 2020, the Veterans Health Affairs (VA) set a goal to become an AFHS, given nearly half of Veterans are over aged 65. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that the first 5 years of Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative within the VA have resulted in significant spread of the 4Ms, reaching hundreds of teams and thousands of Veterans over a broad geographic area and multiple care settings. However, much work remains to continue to spread and study AFHS within the VA, an urgent priority given the aging Veteran population who deserve person-centered care focused on what matters to them. The early results of AFHS implementation in the VA offer a promising model for implementing Age-Friendly care within a large health care system.