Just as older veterans are redefining what it means to live as a senior citizen, VA, since 2021, has been reconstructing the landscape of health care for the nation’s veteran population. The future of health care requires bold approaches that truly value older veterans, consider their wishes, address their unique needs, and provide them with the best care possible.

VA’s concern for older veterans has motivated the Department’s Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care to join the Age-Friendly Health Systems Movement, a recent quality improvement initiative led by the John A. Harford Foundation to improve care for older adults and to deliver safe, reliable, high-quality health care in every setting based on what matters most to veterans.

VA has set a goal to become the largest integrated Age-Friendly Health System in the United States. Clinicians within the system should now apply the 4Ms of the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative: Mobility, “Mentation,” (mental activity), Medications, and What Matters.