CORRY, PA (June 29, 2022) — LECOM Health Corry Memorial Hospital announced today that it has been awarded national designation as an Age-Friendly Health System by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The initiative aims to improve health care for older adults, contributing to a goal continuing to expand and grow Age-Friendly care.
LECOM Health is the only academic health system in the state of Pennsylvania that has twice received the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant from HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration). As a result of the that funding, LECOM Health is the first in northwest Pennsylvania to receive age-friendly designation throughout their continuum of services and facilities.
What qualifies as an Age-Friendly Health System is one in which every older adult’s care is:
- Guided by an essential set of evidence-based practices (4Ms);
- Causes no harm; and
- Is consistent with What Matters to the older adult and their family.
“LECOM Health continues to innovate and provide world-class care, making this designation a big win for the Corry community and surrounding areas,” said Jasen Diley, vice president of affiliated services for LECOM Health. “We are among the first health systems in the country implementing age-friendly health care under the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement. We take pride in the excellent care we provide our older population and are thrilled to be recognized for it.”
The interventions can be tested and adapted by participating in Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Communities. These collaborative initiatives bring together health care teams committed to sharing data and learning together. All teams strive toward reliably implementing age-friendly best practices across emergency departments, intensive care units, medical-surgical units, general wards, and primary and specialty care settings.
LECOM Health Corry Memorial Hospital joins Millcreek Community Hospital, LECOM Senior Living Center, LECOM Nursing and Rehabilitation and Parkside Regency at South Shore in this designation as well as an international group of more than 2,700 health systems working to tailor care to patients’ goals and preferences and to deliver care that is consistently of the highest quality.
“LECOM Health has always been on the forefront of patient care, so we are proud to be recognized nationally as part of this vital movement,” said James Y. Lin, D.O., geriatric medicine specialist and president of LECOM Institute for Successful Living. “We look forward to both sharing our best practices and learning what’s working for others providing age-friendly care. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an important part of our overarching vision to provide every older adult with world-class care.”
As part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, are helping hospitals and other care settings implement a set of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.
The initiative is based on a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients, otherwise known as the 4Ms:
• 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 that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.
The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in 2017 by The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and Catholic Health Association of the U.S. For more information, visit www.ihi.org/agefriendly.
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LECOM Health is a highly innovative, multi-faceted healthcare and education system. As the nation’s only osteopathic academic health center, LECOM Health includes Millcreek Community Hospital, Corry Memorial Hospital, Medical Associates of Erie, LECOM Senior Living Center, LECOM Senior Living Communities, LECOM Medical Fitness and Wellness Center, LECOM Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LECOM Center for Health and Aging, the Visiting Nurse Association of Erie County, the Achievement Center of LECOM Health, and Corry Counseling Services of LECOM Health. At the core of LECOM Health is the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), the largest and one of the most affordable medical schools in the country. Since 1993, LECOM has trained more than 16,000 healthcare professionals through its cutting-edge, student-centered College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Pharmacy, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Services Administration and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at campuses in Erie and Greensburg, PA, Bradenton, FL, and Elmira, N.Y.
For More Information:
Melissa J. Dixon
LECOM Health Communications and Marketing
(814) 462-5093, mdixon@corryhospital.com