Northside Hospital is joining an international group of over 5,200 health organizations to elevate older adult care. Launching September 29, Northside will participate in the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative — a program utilizing evidence-based interventions to improve care for the world's aging population.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the global older adult population is projected to nearly double over the next 34 years. It's a factor affecting the Peach State in a major way.
With over 870,000 older adults in 2021, the Atlanta Regional Commission named the Atlanta area as one of the fastest aging places in the country. By 2050, it anticipates the Atlanta region will have nearly 1.9 million older adults, accounting for roughly 1 in 4 of the 10-county region's entire community.
As it continues to grow, the U.S. older adult population continues to face many significant health challenges. Between 2016 and 2019, 73% of the country's older adult population suffered from at least two chronic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic only amplified many of the challenges older adults continue to face nationwide, "as many lost jobs, easy access to health care, caregiver support, lacked digital connectivity for communication and became isolated," the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
"For many, the challenge extends beyond their health," Northside Hospital palliative medicine and transitions of care director Cristiane Fukuda, GERO-BC, ANP, wrote. "The healthcare system itself can become another source of complexity because of the way it is designed. Multiple providers, medications, appointments, insurance requirements and transitions between the hospital, home, rehabilitation and other care settings can be overwhelming for patients and families."
As a participant in the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative, Northside will address the needs of the Atlanta region's aging population by following a series of practices dedicated to addressing four essential elements of care for older adults:
- 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 older adults move safely every day to maintain function and do What Matters.
"Care for older adults needs to shift from primarily responding to crises to doing as much as we can to prevent them," Cristiane wrote. "That is a significant shift for healthcare, but it is also an important opportunity.
"Our role as healthcare providers — and as a healthcare system — must go beyond responding when something goes wrong. We need to build systems that anticipate the needs of older adults, identify risks early, prevent avoidable complications and provide the right support at the right time. This is the direction Northside is taking now."
Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of the The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA).
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