Age-Friendly Health Systems

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Age-Friendly Health Systems

According to the US Census Bureau, the US population aged 65+ years is expected to nearly double over the next 30 years, from 43.1 million in 2012 to an estimated 83.7 million in 2050. These demographic advances, however extraordinary, have left our health systems behind as they struggle to reliably provide evidence-based care to every older adult at every care interaction.

What Is an Age-Friendly Health System?

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), designed to meet this challenge head on.

Age-Friendly Health Systems aim to:

  • Follow an essential set of evidence-based practices;
  • Cause no harm; and
  • Align with What Matters to the older adult and their family caregivers.
     

Learn more about upcoming Action Communities and the new Online Course with Coaching


What Does It Mean to Be an Age-Friendly Health System?

Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System entails reliably providing a set of four evidence-based elements of high-quality care, known as the “4Ms,” to all older adults in your system: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.

4Ms Framework of an Age-Friendly Health System

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4Ms Framework ​of an Age-Friendly Health System (with descriptions)

Learn more about How to Practice the 4Ms by Care Setting

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IHI Initiatives

Join the Age-Friendly Health Systems Movement

Why Become an Age-Friendly Health System?

Connect and Learn with the Age-Friendly Health Systems Movement

Join Friends of Age-Friendly Health Systems for updates about the movement, notification about quarterly webinars, access to experts, and further support on the 4Ms Framework.

Upcoming Webinar: Coming Soon

Join Friends of Age-Friendly Health Systems

Receive updates on the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, invites to quarterly webinars, access to experts, support on the 4Ms Framework, and more.

Join the Community
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Prioritizing the Care That Matters Most to Older Adults Across the Care Continuum

Need Help or Have Questions?

Email the IHI Age-Friendly Team at afhs@ihi.org

Email IHI

Health Improvement Alliance Europe

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Health Improvement Alliance Europe

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Health Improvement Alliance Europe is a coalition of leaders united for change, driven by collaboration, and focused on achieving health and health care results. 

The Alliance is an exclusive community dedicated to continuous learning and identification of best practices and new models from within and outside health and hea​lth care. The group aims to create new delivery models relevant to European health systems, and achieve the best health and best care at an affordable cost in the face of changing demographics, increasing chronic illness, and economic challenges.​

IHI, with its rich history of improving health and health care worldwide for more than 30 years, is uniquely positioned to convene forward-thinking health care organisation leaders in this bold, collaborative learning environment.

The current ​program year began in October 2024.​ For more information, please download the 2024–2025 Prospectus.

 

 

Bold and Visionary Health Care Leadership

Patients, families, providers, and communities within Europe are looking for bold and visionary health care leaders — leaders who believe that now, perhaps more than ever before, we must change the dialogue about health care.

How will our health and care systems cope with the demands if we do not generate new models of delivery that will improve the health and health care for all of our citizens? This is why a coalition of progressive leaders have formed the IHI Health Improvement Alliance Europe.​

Aims and Objectives

To achieve our aim to improve work processes, create new delivery models, disseminate our learning and ideas, and achieve the best health and best care at affordable cost, the Health Improvement Alliance Europe aims to:

  • ​Surface common challenges across and within regions
  • Develop a cadre of diverse innovators and encourage innovative thinking
  • Leverage each other’s ideas and successes, sharing internationally
  • Hone a strong, bold, collective voice
  • Learn from past and present networks at IHI and worldwide

An "All Teach, All Learn" Network

Join the IHI Health Improvement Alliance Europe to connect with like-minded colleagues under a philosophy of “all teach, all learn” that can significantly accelerate the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to strive for best health.

  • ​Learn and test new innovations with other leaders, spreading improvements in new systems
  • Share ideas and strategies across organisational, regional, and national boundaries
  • Create new delivery models relevant to European health systems to achieve the best care at affordable considering changing demographics, increasing chronic illness, and economic challenges​
  • Meet and connect with like-minded colleagues who strive for the best health; best care; at affordable costs…for everyone.​

Alliance Benefits and Fees

Alliance Design and Principles

Alliance Schedule

Cristina Serrão

Lived Experience Ambassador, NHS England

Lived Experience Ambassador, NHS England

"As my work during the pandemic aligned more and more with co-production and quality improvement, I really appreciated the warm welcome from the other members of the Alliance. This sense of belonging has strengthened year on year."

Mathieu Louiset

Innovation and Improvement Officer, PAQS, Belgium

Innovation and Improvement Officer, PAQS, Belgium

"The Alliance has shown us new projects and ways of working during sites visits and has given us opportunities to think together about health care challenges such as connecting finance and quality improvement and increasing joy in work."

Ron Agble

Director of Partnerships and Transactions, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, England​

Director of Partnerships and Transactions, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, England​

"The Alliance provides not only great ideas, focus, and constructive challenges but ​also a sense of community. Through the Alliance, Royal Free London has fostered other local and regional partnerships, focusing on a range of topics."

Mandy Op den Oordt

Continuous Improvement & Person-Centered Care, Zuyderland Medical Center, The Netherlands

Continuous Improvement & Person-Centered Care, Zuyderland Medical Center, The Netherlands

"The Alliance gave us the opportunity to learn and connect with progressive leaders in quality improvement and many others in Europe who are facing the same challenges. Reflecting and sharing assets and ideas gives us inspiration and energy to tackle those challenges."

Need Help or Have Questions?

Contact the IHI Health Improvement Alliance Europe Team, email Andreia Cavaco (acavaco@ihi.org)

Email

Leadership Alliance

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Leadership Alliance

A Dynamic, Collaborative Learning Community for Health Care Executives and Their Teams

​The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Leadership Alliance is a dynamic collaboration of health care executives who share a goal to work with one another as well as in partnership with our patients, workforces, and communities to deliver on the full promise of the IHI Triple Aim.

Alliance Members share generously with one another, confident that by collaborating and learning together, we can individually and collectively get better, faster.

At this critical moment, health care needs leaders with the courage to imagine, design, and scale new models of innovation, collaboration, and governance that can push health care beyond its traditional limits.

The Leadership Alliance provides that space for leaders to transform and innovate health care together and we are committed to rebuilding healthcare from the inside out.

The 2024–2025 IHI Leadership Alliance membership year began in October 2024.

Read the TIME article by Donald. M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, KBE, IHI President Emeritus, Senior Fellow, and Senior Advisor to the IHI Leadership Alliance, American Health Care Is Broken. Major Hospitals Need to Be Part of the Solution.
 


Who Should Join

The IHI Leadership Alliance is a dynamic, collaborative learning community for health system executives and their teams characterized by generosity, curiosity, courage, and commitment to delivering on the full promise of the Triple Aim.

We welcome organizations that believe that by sharing and learning with one another and partnering with patients, workforces, and communities can help us individually and collectively get better, faster. In other words, organizations that:

  • Have commitments from the highest levels of organizational leadership that delivering on the full promise of the Triple Aim is of strategic importance
  • Are willing to share generously and commit the time and resources required to meaningfully engage in developin​​​g, testing, implementing, and measuring care redesign efforts
  • Are fully committed to moving from talking to doing, from aspiring to achieving​

Leadership Alliance Benefits and Fees

Leadership Alliance Prospectus

Download the IHI Leadership Alliance Prospectus to learn more about the Alliance and how your organization can join this remarkable group of health care innovators.

Download Prospectus
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IHI Leadership Alliance prospectus cover 2024

Current Schedule

Leadership Alliance Resources and Publications

Chris Woleske

President, Bellin Health

President, Bellin Health

"While it's a difficult challenge we face, there is hope because we join together and share the load. That is what IHI facilitates every day."

Ann Lewis

Chief Executive Officer, CareSouth Carolina, Inc.

Chief Executive Officer, CareSouth Carolina, Inc.

“The opportunity to gather with folks who are like-minded around ‘let’s do something, let’s make something happen, let’s shake it up’ was what drove us to join the Leadership Alliance.”

Steve Tierney

Medical Director and CMIO, Southcentral Foundation

Medical Director and CMIO, Southcentral Foundation

“I am not sure any other group besides IHI could have convened that broad a range of perspectives. The multi-stakeholder meeting with government, and private sector innovators was the most exciting IHI event I have been to in a decade.”

Mark Jarrett

Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, Northwell Health

Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, Northwell Health

“We as leaders see that our obligation is not just to our own hospitals, health systems, or care centers, but for all communities. The Leadership Alliance allows us the opportunity to start to take control of things.”

Need Help or Have Questions?

Contact the Leadership Alliance Team, email David Coletta (dcoletta@ihi.org)

Email
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Publications

Reducing Healthcare Carbon Emissions: A Primer on Measures and Actions for Healthcare Organizations to Mitigate Climate Change

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