The Peru Gazette

Jacqueline Riley, NP-C, Senior Nurse Practitioner at CVPH Skilled Nursing Facility, checks the blood pressure of resident Mary Lafountain.

Resident Bonnie Bond receives some tender, loving hair care at CVPH SNF.

Skilled Nursing Facility Named Age-Friendly Health Systems Participant

CVPH News Release – PLATTSBURGH, NY (1/16/2025) – Older adults are living and working longer, redefining later life and enriching our communities. Delivering care that values them and addresses their unique needs leads to better outcomes, more satisfied patients and families and lowers overall costs.

This is why University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital’s (CVPH) Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) is proud to be recognized as an Age-Friendly Health Systems Participant. It is a movement aimed at delivering safe, reliable, high-quality health care in every setting based on what matters most to older adults as individuals.

“This achievement reflects on the type of care we provide to our residents and patients every day,” Jacqueline Riley, NP-C, senior nurse practitioner at CVPH SNF, says. “We deliver excellent care, and we’re always striving to do better. The Age-Friendly Health System initiative is an important part of our mission to provide every older adult with the best care possible.”

Riley, who spearheaded the application process for the hospital, adds that staff also benefit from the designation, as they’re able to learn about what is working well in other facilities in our region and across the country. As part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems Action Community, CVPH SNF is implementing evidence-based 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 end-of-life care.
• Medication: If medication is necessary, use age-friendly medications that do not interfere with what matters to the older adult, mobility or mentation.
• Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat and manage dementia, depression and delirium.
• Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do what matters to them.

CVPH SNF is recognized as a member of an international group of more than 2,700 health care facilities working to tailor care to patients’ goals and preferences and deliver care that is consistently of the highest quality. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in 2017 by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and Catholic Health Association of the United States. For more information, visit www.ihi.org/agefriendly.