Crouse Health Named Age-Friendly Health System

Crouse Health is one of just 37 New York State healthcare facilities — and the only one in Central New York —to be designated an Age-Friendly Health System by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) recently announced the hospitals, ambulatory practices, post-acute care facilities and federally qualified health centers that earned this designation after participating in the first cohort of the HANYS-led New York State Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Community.

“Crouse is proud to be recognized as an age-friendly hospital,” says Chief Operating Officer/Chief Medical Officer Seth Kronenberg, MD. “This recognition reflects our commitment to improving outcomes for older adults.” The IHI designation compliments the recognition Crouse had previously received from the American College of Emergency Physicians for best practices in treating geriatric patients in the hospital’s Emergency Department.

With support from the New York State Department of Health, the program launched in November 2020 and ran through August 2021; the designation of 37 participants to date has nearly doubled the number of New York facilities IHI has recognized for adopting evidence-based interventions to improve care for older adults.

“This Action Community kicked off at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but our cohort was undeterred,” said Bea Grause, RN, JD, president, HANYS. “COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on older adults, magnifying the importance of using practices tailored to that population.”

The members of HANYS’ initial New York State Age-Friendly Action Community cohort learned to identify and address common risks during hospitalization, discharge planning and care transitions, while optimizing their patients’ physical function and independence, supporting caregivers and strengthening coordination between settings and providers.

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.