New Hartford Change AGEnts Network to Optimize Patient Centered Medical Homes for Older Patients and Their Families

The Hartford Change AGEnts Initiative today announced the formal launch of the new Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Network, which will seek to ensure that the PCMH — a highly coordinated, team-based model of primary care — delivers better outcomes for older adults.

The PCMH Network joins the Dementia Caregiving Network begun earlier this year as part of the Change AGEnts initiative (www.changeagents365.org), a multi-year project funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and headquartered at The Gerontological Society of America.  The Change AGEnts program is designed to accelerate sustained practice change that improves the health of older Americans, their families, and communities.

David Dorr, MD, MS, and Colleen Casey, PhD, ANP-BC, CNS, of the Oregon Health & Science University, will co-chair the new PCMH Network.

“The Network will transform PCMHs to better recognize, facilitate, encourage, and ultimately reward doing the right thing for older adults and their caregivers,” Dorr said. “We also want to enhance the connection between PCMHs and relevant resources, including family caregivers and community-based resources.”

Casey indicated that current PCMH definitions and implementations do not encourage the models and care practices known to improve outcomes for older adults.