“Every older adult deserves care that begins with a simple but powerful question: What matters most to you? Our teams listen to that answer and use it to guide care from the physician’s office to the hospital and across every setting. This recognition means older adults and their caregivers can feel confident that we are working together to support the life each person wants to continue living,” said Anna Hicks, MD, Administrative Director of Age-Friendly Services for AdventHealth North Carolina.

This approach is built around the 4Ms Framework: What Matters, Medication, Mind and Mobility. Care teams seek to understand each patient’s goals and preferences, review medications for potential risks or unwanted effects, support healthy thinking and emotional well-being and help patients move safely. Together, these elements help reduce preventable harm while supporting independence and the activities that bring meaning to each person’s life.

AdventHealth North Carolina is one of only 14 health systems nationwide to receive the advanced recognition. Excellence in System-wide Spread recognizes health systems that have moved beyond offering an age-friendly program in a single location and can demonstrate delivery of all 4Ms across multiple care settings. 

The recognition follows AdventHealth North Carolina’s participation in an 18-month IHI collaborative that brought together 30 U.S. health systems from 2024 through 2025. Teams worked to make the 4Ms a reliable part of care across their organizations, creating a more connected experience for older adults and the family members and caregivers who support them.

“This achievement belongs to the physicians, nurses, clinical teams and support teams who have made age-friendly care part of how we serve older adults every day,” Hicks said. “Their collaboration has helped us create a more consistent experience across our network of care here in North Carolina while continuing to honor each person’s unique needs. We are proud of this milestone and even more committed to building on it.”

The Age-Friendly Health Systems movement has improved care for more than 8.5 million older adults. It is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and IHI in partnership with the American Hospital Association.