Grace Cottage Hospital recognized as ‘age-friendly’

TOWNSHEND, Vt. – Grace Cottage Hospital has joined a nationwide initiative to improve health care specifically for older adults.

The Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative is helping hospitals and other care settings implement a set of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.

In its letter congratulating Grace Cottage Hospital for its “Age-Friendly” level two recognition, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) calls Grace Cottage Hospital “a leader in this rapidly growing movement committed to care of older adults.”

Grace Cottage is the only Vermont hospital that has achieved this recognition. The hospital joins an international group of more than 2,900 health systems applying the “Age-Friendly” approach to tailor care to patients’ goals and preferences so that care is consistently of the highest quality. Both Grace Cottage Family Health and Grace Cottage Hospital join 909 facilities nationally who have achieved the more advanced Level two recognition, “Committed to Care Excellence.”

“The integration of the age-friendly approach into our inpatient care is the perfect way to align that care with what matters most to our older adults,” said Lisa Eaton, Grace Cottage Chief Nursing Officer. “This model truly ensures that our multidisciplinary team is setting goals for our patients by looking through the lens of what matters to the individual.”

The IHI designation is based on a review of Grace Cottage Hospital’s patient care in four main areas, what the IHI calls the four Ms: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. Grace Cottage Hospital has proven that it provides patient-centered care, guided by what is most important to the individual patient (What Matters). It also aims to prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium (Mentation), and to encourage older adults to move safely every day (Mobility). When medication (the fourth M) is necessary, Grace Cottage Hospital providers choose medicines and dosages with the least impact on the other three Ms.

The “Age-Friendly” designation is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the U.S. The aim is to provide guidance and recognition for healthcare institutions seeking to provide the best “age-friendly” care for older adults.

Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital includes a 19-bed hospital and ER, a primary care clinic, full-service lab and radiology, and both inpatient and outpatient physical and occupational therapy. Grace Cottage’s Messenger Valley Pharmacy is open to the public and located across the street from the hospital. For more information, visit www.gracecottage.org or call 802-365-7357.

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