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Lake City VAMC Joins Age Friendly Health System Movement

PRESS RELEASE

May 9, 2022

Lake City , FL — The North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System recently announced that the Lake City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center is part of a movement to improve health care for older adults, contributing to a goal continuing to expand and grow Age-Friendly care.

As part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, are helping hospitals and other care settings implement a set of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.

The interventions can be tested and adapted by participating in Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Communities. These collaborative initiatives bring together health care teams committed to sharing data and learning together. All teams strive toward reliably implementing age-friendly best practices across emergency departments, intensive care units, medical-surgical units, general wards, and primary and specialty care settings.

The Lake City VA Medical Center now joins an international group of more than 2,700 health systems working to tailor care to patients’ goals and preferences and to deliver care that is consistently of the highest quality.

“The Lake City VA Medical Center has always been on the forefront of patient care, and that’s why we are participating in this vital movement,” NF/SGVHS Chief of Staff, Dr. IIona Schmalfuss. “We look forward to both sharing our best practices and learning what’s working for others proving age-friendly care.”

The initiative is based on a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients:

  • What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult's specific health outcome goals and care preferences including, but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
  • Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medications that do not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care.
  • Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care.
  • Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.

“All older adults deserve safe, high-quality health care that is based on what matters most to them as individuals and delivered reliably in every setting,” said NF/SGVHS Health System Director, David Isaacks. “This important initiative is part of our overarching vision to provide every older Veteran with the best care possible.”

For more information about available care for older Veterans at the Lake City VA Medical Center, please visit: Lake City VA Medical Center | VA North Florida/South Georgia Health Care | Veterans Affairs.

About the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System
NF/SGVHS is one of the nation’s largest VA healthcare systems employing more than 6,068 medical professionals and support staff dedicated to providing high quality care to Veterans residing throughout North Florida and South Georgia. The organization operates 14 facilities to include two medical centers located in Gainesville and Lake City, a domiciliary and clinics located throughout a 50-county service area. 

Media contacts

Melanie Thomas, Public Affairs Officer

(352) 548-7130

VHANFLPublicAffairs@va.gov

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