ACEP Applauds Adoption of CMS Age-Friendly Hospital Measure

ACEP strongly applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services when it introduced the Age-Friendly Hospital Measure in August as part of the fiscal year 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule. This measure, developed by ACEP in partnership with the American College of Surgeons and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, clarifies goals for those who work with older patients and incorporates important aspects of the ACEP Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) framework into care delivery.

“The Age-Friendly Hospital Measure reshapes the way we care for older patients,” said Aisha Terry, MD, MPH, FACEP, President of ACEP. “ACEP is proud to collaborate with health care leaders at the highest levels to drive meaningful change that helps physicians, care teams and patients.”

Click the barcode to learn more about ACEP’s Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation.

A hospital’s score on the Age-Friendly Hospital measure is based on attestations across five domains. ACEP encouraged CMS to include attestations to reduce boarding in the emergency department and screen for risk factors related to social determinants of health, among others. The measure calls for hospitals to have protocols in place to move older patients out of the emergency department within eight hours of arrival or three hours of the decision to admit.

The ACEP GEDA program is informed by evidence-based best practices and recently accredited its 500th emergency department. The GEDA program is made possible through generous support from the John A. Hartford Foundation and West Health. A growing body of research links facilities in the ACEP GEDA program to lower costs, improve quality, and optimize patient experience.

ACEP Urges Senate to Pass the SAVE Act

ACEP and the American Hospital Association co-hosted a July Senate briefing in support of the bipartisan Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act.

“There’s a problem but we can fix it,” said James Phillps, MD, FACEP, an emergency physician in Washington, D.C., speaking on behalf of ACEP. Dr. Phillips appeared alongside Mark Boucot, President and Chief Executive Officer, Potomac Valley Hospital, Keyser, W.V. and Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, Maryland, and Rachel Culpepper, DNP, RN, CENP, General Medicine Service Line Director, Indiana University Health West Hospital, Avon, Ind.

Click the barcode to see ACEP’s ED Violence page.

Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) joined the panelists as a featured speaker and lead Senate sponsor of the SAVE Act. “We’re asking for the same protections workers in other industries have,” said Sen. Manchin. “It’s not too much to ask.” Violence is not something anyone should have to tolerate as a health care professional, the panelists explained. On top of safety concerns, a steady barrage of assaults lowers morale, impacts recruitment and retention, and complicates care delivery.