Conception of a Recognized Accreditation for a Senior-Friendly Hospital: The Accreditation “Hospital Attentive to the Elder”

Objectives

Consideration of the need to strengthen the commitment of professionals to the good care of the older population in hospitals has been emerging over the last several years. The steering committee of the geriatric sector of the hospitals of our Hospital Consortium (HC) has structured an accreditation project to promote the commitment of professionals to the good care of older adult patients in hospitals: the “Hospital Attentive to the Elder” (HAE) accreditation. This global approach aims to better adapt care to the needs of this population in the hospital and promote positive values (eg, kindness, attentive support).

Design

The creation of the HAE accreditation required the creation of an accreditation board, a referential framework, and an accreditation procedure.

Setting and Participants

The whole process was coordinated by the accreditation board, a multidisciplinary entity, representative of the hospitals of our HC.

Methods

The 5-step approach of the accreditation procedure includes a commitment to the HAE, with the support of the institutional board, and an internal self-assessment phase to guide the creation of action plans, followed by an accreditation cross-evaluation visit. The HAE accreditation is awarded to departments that meet the described criteria. This accreditation process was initially initiated by our HC.

Results

In June 2021, 6 of 10 hospitals of our HC and 11 departments, which mobilized 28 medical, paramedical, and quality referents, initiated the process. All 11 departments fulfilled the criteria for the accreditation, and a ceremony to hand out the certificates was organized in December 2023.

Conclusions and Implications

We envisage that this accreditation process could be offered at the regional and national level to any hospital or group of hospitals with departments that receive patients aged >75 years, regardless of their specialty.