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, APD’s director of medical-surgical services. “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 the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.