Apr. 13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Sarah Mashburn, 202-508-9492

IFAS Selected for National ‘ACTION’ Health Care Research Network

WASHINGTON – The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently selected the Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS), the research center at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) to serve as one of 15 partnerships in the Accelerating Changes and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION) Program.

AHRQ's ACTION Program aims to enhance health services for more than 100 million Americans in all types of health care delivery systems, including long-term care. The program’s goals are to accelerate the development, implementation and dissemination of demand-driven and evidence-based products, tools, strategies and findings to improve health care.

As network members, IFAS will conduct research in integrated health care delivery systems and identify best practices for organizations that manage, deliver and/or receive health care services in long-term care.

IFAS’ partners in this project include Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, an AAHSA member, International Severity Information Systems, Institute for

Clinical Outcomes Research, Kansas University Medical Center; Penn State Center for Health Care and Policy Research and Quality Partners of Rhode Island.

“Research is the foundation for improving the way we care for our nation’s older adults,”said Robyn Stone, DrPH, IFAS’ executive director and senior vice president of research for AAHSA. “The opportunity to participate in the ACTION program will help produce evidence-based practices to improve quality and outcomes in long-term care.”

To learn more about this partnership as well as IFAS’ other research, please visit the IFAS Web site at www.futureofaging.org.


About IFAS
The Institute for the Future of Aging Services (www.futureofaging.org) is a policy research institute whose mission is to create a bridge between the practice, policy and research communities to advance the development of high-quality health, housing and supportive services for America’s aging population. IFAS has three signature areas: advancing quality of aging services, developing a quality workforce and enhancing residential options for older adults. IFAS is the applied research arm of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.aahsa.org). AAHSA members serve two million people every day through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. AAHSA's commitment is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust.