Aurora Medical Center Washington County, 2025 Quality
Enhancing Older Adult Care: Reducing Readmissions
As an Age-Friendly Health System, the aim at Aurora Medical Center Washington County is to deliver person-centered care by focusing on the 4Ms framework: mobility, medication, mentation, and what matters. By highlighting patients' wellness and strengths rather than their illnesses and disabilities, they promote independence and improve their quality of life, enabling them to return home and avoid hospital readmission.
The goal is to reduce the hospital readmission rate of older adults by 3% and improve patient satisfaction of older adults by 5%. The Age-Friendly initiative is a comprehensive program supported by various tools and innovative strategies. Each patient room features whiteboards that capture 4M data, including "What matters most to you?" Nurses use these boards on every shift to ensure the 4Ms are integrated into the care plan for that period. Monthly meetings of the interdisciplinary team focus on reviewing case studies to identify opportunities for addressing the 4Ms of care. Through these case studies and collaborative work, the team has devised creative ways to support elderly patients, such as providing comfort care supplies for end-of-life, stuffed animals for dementia patients, and playing cards and activity books. Additionally, the educational team established a delirium immersion room to help staff understand the experience of individuals suffering from delirium. Evidence-based care for older adults has shown to improve their acute care experiences and outcomes. Tailoring each patient's care to meet their specific needs ensures comprehensive care throughout the healthcare continuum.
Following the implementation of the Age-Friendly initiative, the facility observed notable results. The patient experience regarding nurses' attentiveness increased from 76% to 87%, and readmission rates decreased from 16% to 12%. Employing an interdisciplinary team to integrate the 4M framework enabled sustained goals and enhanced knowledge and awareness of the impact of the 4Ms on quality of life, readmissions, length of stay, and patient experience.
The goal is to reduce the hospital readmission rate of older adults by 3% and improve patient satisfaction of older adults by 5%. The Age-Friendly initiative is a comprehensive program supported by various tools and innovative strategies. Each patient room features whiteboards that capture 4M data, including "What matters most to you?" Nurses use these boards on every shift to ensure the 4Ms are integrated into the care plan for that period. Monthly meetings of the interdisciplinary team focus on reviewing case studies to identify opportunities for addressing the 4Ms of care. Through these case studies and collaborative work, the team has devised creative ways to support elderly patients, such as providing comfort care supplies for end-of-life, stuffed animals for dementia patients, and playing cards and activity books. Additionally, the educational team established a delirium immersion room to help staff understand the experience of individuals suffering from delirium. Evidence-based care for older adults has shown to improve their acute care experiences and outcomes. Tailoring each patient's care to meet their specific needs ensures comprehensive care throughout the healthcare continuum.
Following the implementation of the Age-Friendly initiative, the facility observed notable results. The patient experience regarding nurses' attentiveness increased from 76% to 87%, and readmission rates decreased from 16% to 12%. Employing an interdisciplinary team to integrate the 4M framework enabled sustained goals and enhanced knowledge and awareness of the impact of the 4Ms on quality of life, readmissions, length of stay, and patient experience.
