Description: 

The United States is undergoing a significant demographic shift, with a rapidly aging and increasingly diverse population. As of 2020, about one in six Americans is 65 or older, and nearly 11,000 more reach that age each day. As people age, their healthcare needs often become more complex—yet many health systems struggle to manage this complexity, resulting in preventable harm and poorer outcomes for older adults. This course is designed to support Sutter Health’s efforts to become an Age-Friendly Health System by educating future champions on the foundational 4Ms framework: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. These evidence-based principles guide the delivery of safe, effective, and person-centered care for older adults across all healthcare settings. The course also integrates health and practice data into the planning and presentation of accredited Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) and Continuing Education (CE), enabling participants to identify care gaps, monitor outcomes, and design targeted interventions. In addition, it addresses key factors beyond clinical care—such as social determinants of health—that influence patient outcomes, incorporating these elements into CE and IPCE to promote more holistic, equitable care for aging populations.

Target Audience: 

Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Nurse, Registered (RN)

Pharmacists (PharmD)

Physical Therapist

Learning Objectives: 

After Attending This Activity Learners Should Be Able To:

1. Summarize the essential components, or “4Ms”, of IHI’s Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS).

2. Consider the “why” and “why now” of Age-Friendly quality improvement at Sutter Health.

3. Support the readiness of your team, using Sutter created tools based on IHI and CMS identified drivers of effective and sustainable change.

4. Apply reflective learning strategies to recognize personal and systemic ageist biases and incorporate age-inclusive best practices into everyday healthcare delivery.

5. Integrate data driven approaches for reliable and equitable Age-Friendly Care Delivery

Providing Culturally Appropriate Care which is Free of Implicit Biases (AB 1195 & 241):

Learners are strongly encouraged to engage in self-directed learning related to the impact of implicit biases in this clinical area via the references provided below:

• Kellogg, A. J., Hancock, D. W., Cho, G. Y., & Reid, A. E. (2023). Community-level age bias and older adult mortality. Social Science & Medicine, 317, 115449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115449
• Rhee, T. G., Marottoli, R. A., Cooney, L. M., & Fortinsky, R. H. (2020). Associations of Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health Index with Self-Rated Health, Functional Limitations, and Health Services Use in Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16429

Disclosure of Financial or In-Kind Commercial Support & Conflict of Interest 

No one involved in the planning or presentation of this educational activity have any relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. No financial or in-kind commercial support was received to produce or promote this educational activity.   

- Provider Designee/Verification: Fozia Ferozali, Ed.D.