Newswise — Hackensack University Medical Center’s Center for Healthy Senior Living has been recognized as a 2023 Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence by Age-Friendly Health Systems, an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA).
Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System involves reliably providing a set of four evidence-based elements of high-quality care, known as the “4Ms,” to all older adults. The 4Ms include: What Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility.
“Hackensack University Medical Center’s Division of Geriatric Medicine provides comprehensive care to help older adults manage the aging process — treating acute and chronic medical conditions while helping patients maximize their independence and quality of life,” said Manisha Parulekar, M.D., FACP, AGSF, CMD, director of the Division of Geriatrics at Hackensack University Medical Center. “This recognition is a testament to our commitment to provide an exceptional patient experience, high-quality, patient-centered care, patient education and outreach tailored to the needs of older adults.”
The Center for Healthy Senior Living includes board-certified geriatric medicine specialists providing services ranging from wellness and prevention to specialized hospital, nursing home and hospice care. Additionally, the team focuses on managing aging-related conditions including falls, confusion and dementia, osteoporosis, physical function and mobility concerns, perioperative care and goals of care.
“It is so exciting that Hackensack University Medical Center's Center for Healthy Senior Living received the Age-Friendly recognition,” said Mark Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and President, North Region Hackensack Meridian Health. “With our fall prevention program and our Center for Memory Loss and Brain Health, Hackensack University Medical Center leads the way in providing age-friendly health care.”
“The Center for Healthy Senior Living provides valuable support for older adults and their loved ones in our community,” said Lisa Tank, M.D., FACP, CMD, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Hackensack University Medical Center and chief medical officer, Northern Region, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Receiving the Age-Friendly Health System designation means that our older patients can trust our team to provide the care they need in an environment tailored to the unique safety and health needs of older adults.”
ABOUT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Hackensack University Medical Center, a 803-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital, was Bergen County’s first hospital founded in 1888. It was also the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet®-recognized hospital for nursing excellence, receiving its sixth consecutive designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The academic flagship of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, Hackensack University Medical Center has a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the highest rating offered by the federal agency’s Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Program. Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked #1 in N.J. by the annual U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best Hospital rankings - the only N.J. hospital with the #1 adult and children’s hospital rankings. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranked Hackensack University Medical Center #6 overall in the New York Metropolitan area and #32 in the nation. The hospital also earned multiple recognitions for high-performing procedures and conditions that include having the following best nationally-ranked programs in NJ: Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery (#42); Pulmonology and Lung Surgery (#24); Geriatrics (#36). Hackensack University Medical Center is the only NJ hospital nationally ranked in Neurology and Neurosurgery (#22), Urology (#27) and Orthopedics (#33) as well as being home to The John Theurer Cancer Center, a premier cancer center in the state. Named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2023 list, Hackensack University Medical Center is also the recipient of the 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ by Healthgrades as well as an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. This award-winning care is provided on a campus that is home to facilities such as the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, also ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Additionally, the children’s nephrology program ranks in the top 50 in the United States. Hackensack University Medical Center is listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Our comprehensive clinical research portfolio includes studies focused on precision medicine, translational medicine, immunotherapy, cell therapy, and vaccine development. The hospital campus is also home to the Helena Theurer Pavilion, the largest healthcare expansion project ever approved by the state: The 530,000-sq.-ft., nine-story surgical and intensive care tower is considered N.J. 's first ‘smart hospital’ and houses 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capability, 50 ICU beds, and 175 medical/surgical beds including a 50 room Musculoskeletal Institute.
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