Valued Voice

Recently, WHA hosted the first part in the Age-Friendly Webinar Series featuring Advocate Health. This presentation focused on Advocate Health's system-wide approach to scaling the 4Ms (what matters, medication, mentation and mobility) Framework, implementing them across all inpatient units in their 26 Midwest hospitals. This implementation resulted in the health system achieving the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Committed to Care Excellence recognition by the end of 2025.

Aurora Health, a 2025 Wisconsin Hospital Association Quality Award recipient, began implementing Age-Friendly care in 2017 and formally began systemwide adoption of the Age‑Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework in 2019, embedding it into standard inpatient care. Implementation was designed and scaled through cohort‑based learning aligned with IHI and American Hospital Association Action Communities, resulting in all 26 Midwest Aurora Health hospitals achieving Level 1 and Level 2 Age‑Friendly recognition across 189 inpatient units by the end of 2025. Success was driven by strong nursing leadership, executive sponsorship, centralized system leadership, local site champions and standardized tools. These tools include education, workflow, Epic documentation, audit tools, dashboards and an implementation guide allowing for sustainability while supporting local adaptation.

Scale further expanded following the formation of Advocate Aurora Health in December 2022 through the merger of Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care, creating a six‑state system with more than 60 hospitals and 1,000 ambulatory sites. At the enterprise level, there is a focused commitment to delivering consistent, comprehensive care for older adults by advancing Age‑Friendly care. This is supported through a governance structure overseen by the Operations Leadership Committee, the Age‑Friendly Initiative Development Committee and specialized Domain Teams. Designed to establish Advocate Health as an Age‑Friendly Health System and meet the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate, this work is enhancing care for older adults and their families, improving patient satisfaction and leading the development of tools and practices that optimize care.

The impact is evident at Aurora Medical Center – Summit, a Level II trauma hospital in Waukesha County, where more than half of patients are age 65 or older and falls are the leading trauma diagnosis. After adopting the framework in 2024, the hospital aligned mobility with fall prevention and discharge-to-home efforts. Using bedside tools including mobility signage, real-time dashboards and frontline engagement, such as including friendly unit competitions, the hospital reduced patient falls by 30%, mobilized patients within an average of three hours of admission, reduced pressure injuries and logged more than 1,600 patient walking miles in one year.

Together, these efforts show how Advocate Health is making age friendly care a sustainable, patient-centered standard across its Midwest hospitals.

Learn more by listening to the recording AAH Implementing the Age-Friendly 4Ms and be sure to register for Part 2 of the AAH Age Friendly Webinar Series taking place on February 10, from 12–1 p.m. Registration is available here.