NEW YORK (June 14, 2022)—The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan philanthropy focused on improving care for older adults, awarded a $1 million grant to aging services association LeadingAge to improve nursing home care in America. The grant aims to further the recommendations in the recently released National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) report The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff.

JAHF leaders stated they selected LeadingAge for the grant because of the breadth of its membership across the full continuum of nonprofit providers of aging services, as well as its efforts in building coalitions of stakeholders with diverse perspectives and forging policy approaches with broad appeal. As a grant recipient, LeadingAge will convene a coalition of organizations representing nursing home residents and family caregivers; providers, including leaders and frontline staff; as well as advocacy groups, researchers, foundations, policymakers and others to advance the NASEM report recommendations. 

“Nursing homes face a web of complex challenges, but the NASEM report provides clear, solution-driven recommendations for making progress,” said Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of JAHF. “The time is now to unite and take action that will deliver measurable and meaningful improvements in the care of older adults.”

Grant activities include identifying the most immediately actionable recommendations from the NASEM report and devising strategies to bring them to fruition through the collective action of stakeholders to influence policy and practice change. The strategies will be informed by an actionability index developed by LeadingAge and the project coalition. LeadingAge will offer direct training and support to nursing homes through virtual education opportunities and activities with local organizations.

“The NASEM report is a wake-up call for our country – and long overdue. As the only organization representing providers across the care continuum, LeadingAge brings a unique perspective and depth of experience from our work in advocacy, education and research to this project,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge. “It is time for action – and we’re excited to take the lead on this ambitious effort to implement the NASEM recommendations to ensure older adults and their families can access safe, high-quality care.”   

The work will be led by Sloan and Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN, a geriatric nurse practitioner and senior advisor for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

“Effective, inclusive collaboration is vital to making progress,” said Bonner. “By working together to move recommendations forward, JAHF, LeadingAge and IHI are demonstrating the power of collaboration through example.” 

JAHF’s grant totals nearly $1.2 million over two years. 

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.