McLaren Caro Region Drives Forward National Movement to Improve Care for Older Adults

McLaren Caro Region was one of the earliest health care organizations to join the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement and is pleased to announce its commitment to a national movement of improving care for older adults.

McLaren Caro Region is recognized in the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) because of its demonstrated progress toward implementing the 4Ms framework.

The 4MS framework is an evidence-based practice which lays the groundwork for optimizing care and outcomes for older adults, improving provider experience, supporting caregivers, and pursuing value-based methods of care. The 4M’s include: What Matters to older adults, their Medication, their Mentation, and their Mobility.

“McLaren Caro Region is deeply committed to the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement because of the benefits it can deliver to older adults, their families, and our providers,” says Michael Johnston CEO and President of McLaren Caro Region.

Reports from IHI show the participation in the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement surged by 85 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. When 1,671 care sites across the U.S. joined between March and December 2020, this highlighted the impact of the older adult population’s size and distinct medical needs. Adults 65 and older are a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population and health care consumers. Their numbers are expected to increase from 49 million today to 98 million by 2060[1].

McLaren Caro Region recognizes the far-reaching impact of improving care for older adults as a way to build greater resilience into individual health care organizations and to strengthen U.S. health care overall.

The Age-Friendly Health Systems movement is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). Together, they applaud and celebrate the visionary health care organizations who signed on to improve their care of older adults and have led the way in recognizing and addressing a critical need that will strengthen health care delivery today and in the future.

For more information or to join, visit ihi.org/AgeFriendly.