This project aims to enhance age-friendly health care within the federally qualified health centers of North Florida Medical Centers’ clinical locations. Through trainings and system change efforts, this activity is transforming clinical environments into integrated geriatrics and primary care systems, incorporating the 4Ms of age-friendly health systems: what matters to the older adults, medication, mentation, and mobility. We are also connecting providers and older patients with community-based, self-management wellness programs through a partnership with Advantage Aging Solutions.

The African-American Alzheimer’s Caregiver Training and Support, or ACTS 2, program brings skills training and support to African-American dementia caregivers with depression. ACTS 2 aids in the delivery of mental health interventions for African-American caregivers by offering a spiritually-modified cognitive-behavioral intervention using easy-to-operate telehealth technology. This partnership is expanding the reach of ACTS 2 to central Florida.

The Montessori-Inspired Lifestyle®, developed by the Center for Applied Research in Dementia, is a highly innovative approach to dementia care that focuses on identifying individuals’ strengths and creating opportunities for interaction, engagement, and purpose. By training assisted living staff in this approach, this project is transforming partner facilities into person-centered environments. In addition, this project is supporting dementia-friendly communities in partnership with the Dementia Care and Cure Initiative through multi-sector community dementia education, resource sharing, and training in Montessori/person-centered approaches.

This project is strengthening relationships between home care clients and the two groups that are equally important to their care – home care workers and family caregivers. In partnership with the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute and Florida Pioneer Network, educational trainings provided to partnering Home Instead locations are improving communication between these groups. Training activities aim to reduce interpersonal conflict and create opportunities for the client, home care worker, and family caregiver to work together successfully to optimize client care and health outcomes.

The new Physician Assistant School at the FSU College of Medicine presents a unique opportunity to teach the integration of geriatric care principles into primary care. This project is training and educating PA students to assess and address the primary care needs of older adults. Their clinical training environments are also being modified to incorporate the essential elements of age-friendly health systems and screenings for geriatric syndromes.