Peconic Bay Medical Center recognized as an age-friendly system participant by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Contact: Tara Smith
(631) 548-6891
tsmith49@northwell.edu

RIVERHEAD, NY – Peconic Bay Medical Center (PBMC) announced today that it has officially been recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as an Age-Friendly System Participant. This recognition makes Peconic Bay Medical Center the only certified Age-Friendly System Participant on the North Fork. Thousands of Eastern Long Island residents can now benefit from the implementation of evidence-based interventions specifically designed to improve care for older adults.

Established by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the Age-Friendly System Participant program includes Health Systems Action Communities which are collaborative entities comprised of health care teams from all over the country who are committed to sharing data and learning together. All teams strive toward reliably implementing best age-friendly practices across emergency departments, intensive care units, medical-surgical units, general wards, and primary and specialty care settings. PBMC joins over 100 health systems working to make care for older adults even more tailored to patients’ goals and preferences.

“Peconic Bay Medical Center has always been on the forefront of patient care, and we look forward to implementing our best age-friendly health care practices and learning what’s working for others around the country,” said Dr. Amy E. Loeb, executive director of Peconic Bay Medical Center. “The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an important part of our overarching vision to provide every older adult with the best care possible.”

The initiative is based on a series of 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, but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
• Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medication that does not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care.
• Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care.
• Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.

“It’s important for us to focus on areas where we can continue to improve the care of all patients and this will have a tremendous impact,” said Dr. Jeffrey Zilberstein, medical director at Peconic Bay Medical Center. “We are all aging, so understanding the differences in how our care plans need to be altered as patients age is a priority for us. Medications may have different effects and interactions as we age. The consequences of an illness for our older adults may be more profound. This strategy will fundamentally change we view caring for older adults and prove to continue our journey to become more patient-centered for all patients under our care.”

Earning a four-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the CMS 2021 hospital compare ratings, Peconic Bay Medical Center will continue to constantly refine their processes while providing more older adults with the care that they want, need and deserve.

Since joining in January of 2016, Northwell Health has moved rapidly to make Peconic Bay Medical Center the regional medical center for Eastern Long Island.

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About Peconic Bay Medical Center
Located in Riverhead, NY, Peconic Bay Medical Center is a 200-bed nonprofit hospital committed to providing exceptional care and improving the health of the communities it serves. Peconic Bay Medical Center offers wide-ranging, full-scope services and programs, including advanced surgical, cardiac, orthopedic and women’s health care, comprehensive inpatient medical care, palliative care and an extensive range of outpatient services, along with state-of-the-art technology. Peconic Bay Medical Center joined Northwell Health in 2016. For more information, visit PBMCHealth.org and follow us @PeconicBayMedicalCenter on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 830 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 76,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,800 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.