AHA Age-Friendly Healthcare Impact Award

The Age-Friendly Healthcare Impact Award, presented by the American Hospital Association and sponsored by The John A. Hartford Foundation, is the premier national recognition for hospitals, health systems and their partners advancing excellence in care for adults age 65 or older. 

The award honors organizations that are driving transformation by embedding the 4Ms — What Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility — into strategy, operations and daily practice, resulting in measurable improvements in outcomes for older adult patients. 

The Award recognizes organizations demonstrating:

  • Strong leadership commitment and organizational alignment.
  • Reliable, evidence-based 4Ms care that improves quality and safety.
  • Meaningful partnerships with patients, families and community providers.
  • Innovation and technology that advance and sustain age-friendly care.
  • Strategies that scale and sustain impact across the care continuum. 

This award is designed for organizations that have moved beyond early implementation and are demonstrating enterprisewide adoption and impact of age-friendly care. 

All U.S. hospitals and health systems that have at least two settings of care where the 4Ms are being delivered and have earned level 2 recognition as an “Age-Friendly Health System — Committed to Care Excellence” are eligible to apply for the award. Learn more about Age-Friendly Health Systems recognition levels. 

Readiness

Your organization is a strong candidate if it has:

  • Systemwide 4Ms:
    4Ms implemented across multiple care settings.
  • Measurable results:
    Data showing improvement in outcomes for older adult patients.
  • Leadership engagement:
    Executive and board commitment guiding this work.
  • Care continuum approach:
    Partnerships extending beyond a single care setting.
  • Sustained efforts:
    Practices that are scaled and maintained over time.

Applications are due Sept. 25, 2026.

One winner and up to three finalists will receive the award at the 2027 AHA Leadership Summit, July 18-20, 2027, in San Diego. 

Why Apply

  • Validate your organization’s impact against a national standard for excellence in age-friendly care.
  • Gain national recognition for hospitalwide or system-level transformation.
  • Strengthen your organization’s approach through reflection and benchmarking.
  • Share your organization’s model to help advance age-friendly care across the field.

Questions? Please email agefriendlyaward@aha.org.