This designation reflects APD’s pledge to continuously improve our approach, ensuring that older patients receive care that aligns with their values, goals, and unique health needs.
Paula B. Seaman, MSN, DA, RN, CENPAlice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD), a member of Dartmouth Health, has been recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System by an initiative of 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.
This designation acknowledges APD’s ongoing dedication to improving care for patients aged 65 and older, aligning with a nationally recognized model of best practices known as the “4Ms.”
“The 4Ms—What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility—are the foundation of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative,” said Sarah R. Johnston, MSN, RN, CENP, CCRN, AVP, AVP Inpatient Clinical Operations. “By focusing on what’s most important to each patient’s health, ensuring appropriate medications, addressing cognitive and mental health concerns, and promoting safe mobility, the 4Ms approach seeks to improve outcomes and enhance quality of life for older adults.” Johnston has spearheaded APD’s efforts to achieve the Age-Friendly designation since 2021.
Dartmouth Health’s strategic focus on senior care includes APD earning Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department (GED) accreditation, implementing Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders, a care model for older patients across hospital settings, and implementing the 4Ms across multiple care settings. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, another member of Dartmouth Health, also holds Level 1 GED accreditation.
“Our care teams’ dedication to integrating the 4Ms throughout our hospital underscores our deep commitment to serving older adults with the care and respect they deserve,” said APD’s chief nursing officer Paula B. Seaman, MSN, DA, RN, CENP. “This designation reflects APD’s pledge to continuously improve our approach, ensuring that older patients receive care that aligns with their values, goals, and unique health needs.”
New Hampshire is the second oldest state in the country, behind Maine, and with the U.S. population aged 65 and older expected to nearly double by 2050, the need for hospitals and health systems to adapt to the specific requirements of this demographic has never been more urgent. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative addresses this challenge directly by promoting consistent, evidence-based practices that cause no harm and align with what matters most to older adults and their families.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.