Rochester Medicine

Aging Reimagined: The Age-Friendly Health System

Nov. 4, 2022

At every level of care and in every setting, age-friendly health systems follow four elements of high-quality care, the 4Ms:

  • What Matters to You—Know and align care with the older adult’s specific health outcome goals and preferences
  • Mentation—Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium
  • Mobility—Ensure the older person moves safely every day
  • Medication—If it’s necessary, make sure it doesn’t interfere with the other three Ms
Thomas Caprio, MD
Thomas Caprio, MD

“I look at it as a ‘no wrong door’ approach. Any older adult who comes in, no matter what their need is, they’ll have consistent, evidence-based care that is focused on the unique needs of older adults,” says Thomas Caprio, MD (Res ’03, Flw ’05, MPH ’10, MS ‘15), principal investigator of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) grant and director of the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center. The GWEP grant and the URAI fund Geriatric Faculty Scholars from the School of Nursing and Medicine/Dentistry to become geriatrics champions and further disseminate the AFHS within their own specialty, program, or department.