Earn Recognition as an Age-Friendly Health System

Programs and Resources; Quality
 

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. It is designed to help providers:

  • ​​Follow an essential set of evidence-based practices;
  • Cause no harm; and
  • Align with What Matters to the older adult and their family caregivers.

IHI recognizes nursing homes working toward reliable practice of evidenced-based interventions for older adults known as the 4Ms: What Matters, Medications, Mentation, Mobility. As of August 2024, nearly 5,000 health care organizations have earned either level 1 (Participant) or level 2 (Committed to Care Excellence) recognition in the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement. 

Why Become an Age-Friendly Nursing Home? 
By becoming an Age-Friendly nursing home, you can:
  • ​​Improve care for older adults with evidenced-based care; and 
  • Earn recognition by IHI and the John A. Hartford Foundation as an Age-Friendly Health System.

Age-Friendly care has been shown to increase resident satisfaction, which can lead to improved quality measure scores. Many nursing homes also report positive impact on staff and organizational culture.


IHI offers three ways to join the movement based on the degree of interest and self-motivation:
  • ​​Action Communities
  • Do-It-Yourself Participation
  • Scale-up Accelerator

The 2025 Spring Action Community begins in March. Information regarding these may be found on their Age-Friendly Health Systems Join the Movement page and flyer, including how to register for the upcoming Spring 2025 Action Community. Sign up here to receive further information. 

Join the nearly 750 nursing homes across the nation have been recognized as Age-Friendly Health Systems. To learn more, email ameier@ihi.org. Registration is free and open through April 2025. Contact AFHS@ihi.org​ with questions.