IHI Awards Seed Grants to Second Cohort of Health Systems to Improve Diagnosis and Care for Older Adults

BOSTON, July 9, 2025 – The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has awarded seed grants to six health systems for testing new and novel ways to improve the care and outcomes of older adults through the reliable implementation of best practices and innovations supporting age-friendly diagnostic practices. The Diagnostic Excellence – Age-Friendly Health Systems (DxEx – AFHS) Seed Grant Program is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and The John A. Hartford Foundation, awarding each grantee up to $75,000 to develop their innovative approaches.

Joining the prior cohort of grantees, these six health systems will test new interventions and practices using improvement and/or implementation science to improve diagnosis for older adults (65+ years), aligned with the 4Ms of Age-Friendly Health Systems (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility).

“Integrating approaches to diagnostic excellence with the evidence-based practices of Age-Friendly Health Systems improves quality and safety of care as diagnoses are formulated, and enhances the design of treatment for the diagnosis with a patient-centered focus,” said Jeffrey Salvon-Harman, MD, CPPS, IHI Vice President, Safety. “Congratulations to the grantees of cohort 2, and welcome to the IHI Learning Network.”

Grantees were selected for their ability to support clinicians in various settings, foster meaningful engagement of older adult patients and families, and improve equity and mitigate disparities based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, and/or social determinants of health using a combination of scientific research methods and quality improvement methods. During the 18-month grant period, IHI will engage awardees in a Learning Network that will facilitate learning among the grantees and support integration of quality improvement in all projects. 

About the grant recipients (Cohort 2) and their projects:

• Cedars Nursing Care Center: Integrating Age-Friendly Care and Diagnostic Excellence: A Strategic Approach to Reducing SNF Rehospitalizations. This comprehensive high-risk rehospitalization prevention program targets the identified root causes through seven key evidence-based interventions for risk identification, detection of impaired function, and identification of “What Matters” to patients and families.
• Department of Emergency Medicine Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health: Decreasing Rates of Aspiration Pneumonia in Older Adult ED Patients Through Early Diagnosis and Intervention on Dysphagia. By increasing dysphagia screening among high-acuity ED patients, the project aims to provide an intervention that will offer improvement in medical diagnosis, while incorporating the principles of the age-friendly health system.
• Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center: Polypharmacy in Older Adults: A Pathway to Safer and More Equitable Care. This collaborative effort, involving physicians, pharmacists, nurses, patients, families, and other health care providers, is essential for effectively assessing medication regimens, ensuring patient safety, and addressing equity concerns such as disparities in access to health care, health literacy, and socioeconomic factors, providing all older adults with appropriate and equitable care.
• Riverside Center for Excellence in Aging and Geriatric Health D/B/A Riverside Martha W. Goodson Center: Integration of an Artificial Intelligences Cognitive Assessment Platform to Promote Earlier Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Dementia. The project will develop culturally tailored dementia screening tools with input from patients, family caregivers, and community members while incorporating the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms, ensuring the tools are appropriate for diverse patient populations.
• University Physicians & Surgeons Inc. (Marshall Health): Integration of an Artificial Intelligences Cognitive Assessment Platform to Promote Earlier Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Dementia. The project aims to demonstrate that AI-enhanced cognitive screenings can improve efficiency and frequency in diagnosing cognitive decline through the use of AI-driven tools by primary care physicians, particularly in underserved areas.
• University of Toledo Foundation: Improving Hypertension Diagnosis and Management for Older Adults with Simulation-based Training in the 4Ms and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Use. The project centers on simulation-based training designed to equip participants (primary care providers, clinic staff, and family caregivers) with practical skills for teaching older adults and their caregivers how to use home blood pressure monitors (HBPMs) effectively, ensuring accurate and reliable blood pressure measurements.

About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a leading, globally recognized not-for-profit health care improvement organization that has been applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to meet current and future health care challenges for more than 30 years. IHI provides millions of people in health care with methods, tools, and resources to make care better, safer, and more equitable; convenes experts to enable knowledge sharing and peer-learning; and advises health systems and hospitals of all sizes in improving their systems and outcomes at scale. IHI’s mission is to innovate and lead transformational improvement in health and health care worldwide.

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