How We’re Transforming Care for Older Adults — And What it Means for Caregivers
This National Caregivers Day, we celebrate caregivers and their critical contributions to families and the community. We’d also like to share a few ways that the West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham is working to make the experience easier for caregivers when an older loved one is hospitalized.
The West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham aims to transform inpatient care for adults age 65 and older by ensuring care is aligned to the 4Ms: mobility, medications, mentation, and “what matters most.” Here’s what that means for our older patients and their caregivers:
Increased mobility: The Accelerator aims to improve mobility in older patients by equipping care teams with tools, streamlined workflows and training that focus on keeping older adults active. This will allow older adults to maintain their strength and provide a smoother transition home — a benefit for both patients and their caregivers.
Age-appropriate medications: Because aging affects how medications work in the body, certain medications can cause unwanted side effects in older adults, such as delirium, falls and constipation. To address this, the Accelerator has hardwired age-appropriate default doses and high-risk medication safety precautions directly into Epic, the hospital’s electronic health record. With these updates, caregivers can be reassured that evidence‑based safeguards are in place to help reduce medication‑related risks and support safer care during their loved one’s hospital stay.
Preventing delirium: Delirium can lead to long hospital stays and a higher chance of complications after discharge — while causing additional worry and stress for caregivers and loved ones. The Accelerator is embedding delirium prevention into everyday care — from nursing plans and mobility tools to medication safety and discharge education. These measures help ensure that patients stay engaged and oriented throughout their hospital stay and get back home more quickly.
What matters most. It’s important for clinicians to learn what matters most to patients – their values, preferences and priorities for their health and daily life. Through the Accelerator, we are operationalizing a more consistent way to ask older adults what matters to them and to use that information to guide care. By focusing on what matters most to older adults, we can align care and discharge planning with their goals, helping to provide them and their caregivers peace of mind.
Together, these efforts reflect Mass General Brigham’s commitment to delivering age-appropriate care that supports older adults — and the caregivers who love and support them — every step of the hospital journey.