Age-Friendly Health Systems (HLOL #261)

Leslie J. Pelton, MPA is a senior program officer at The John A. Hartford Foundation, where she oversees grants that are transforming care for older adults and family caregivers through the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement. Prior to this, Leslie was vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, where she collaborated with funders, national partners and leading health systems to design and spread Age-Friendly Health Systems. As of May 2025, more than 5,200 hospitals, medical practices, nursing homes, clinics, and home health care agencies, this movement is committed to delivering evidence-based care to reduce harm and align with what matters to older patients and their caregivers.

Listen as Leslie Pelton talks with Helen Osborne about:

• Age-Friendly Health Systems. What these systems are, where they happen, why they matter throughout the continuum of care


• The essential 4Ms of Age-Friendly Health Systems: 1) What Matters 2) Medication 3) Mentation 4) Mobility


• How clinicians, older adults, family caregivers, healthcare facilities, community organizations and others can routinely use the 4Ms of age-friendly care

More ways to learn:

• Age-Friendly Health Systems


• My Health Checklist


• The John A. Hartford Foundation


• IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement)


• Care Compare: Doctors and Clinicians Initiative (CMS)

Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Third Edition, by Helen Osborne. The chapter “Know Your Audience: Older Adults” is especially relevant to this podcast.

Read a transcript of this podcast.

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