Center receives national health care award

The Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) honored the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging with the Redefining American Healthcare Award on Aug. 13, 2019.

The center, created in 2017, focuses on strategies that will strengthen linkages and coordination between community and clinical care options. In order to successfully improve the population health of the surrounding community, the center has promoted evidence-based practices and policies about chronic disease prevention and management, explored interactions between health, aging and technology, evaluated economic and policy issues related to population aging, and more.

Center Founding Director Marcia Ory and Co-Director Matthew Lee Smith received the award. Ory described the center’s mantra as “Active for Life—every one, every day, every age.”

“With this philosophy, we strive to scale and sustain evidence-based programs that meet older adults where they are—whether at home, in the clinic, at work or in the community at large,” Ory said. “It is through the collaborative partnerships we are building across community, clinical and corporate sectors that we can make the triple aims of better health, better health care and better value a reality.”

HLC president Mary R. Grealy emphasized the importance of providing a broad spectrum of health care services. “It is now more apparent than ever that the doctor’s office does not play the only role in one’s health,” she said. “As senior health has moved to the forefront of the conversation, addressing social determinants of health and connecting the dots to achieve the best outcomes for the aging is something in which the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging has managed to excel.”

Texas Congressman Bill Flores stated, “The innovative and unique programs and research at the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging are exceptional and timely for the nation’s population. Their cutting-edge work goes beyond traditional approaches to promote healthy and successful aging with a holistic focus on the social, behavioral and environmental factors that surround today’s seniors. I commend the faculty, staff, partners and affiliates for their commitment to making the Center for Population Health and Aging a center of excellence for aging well in today’s society. The Redefining American Healthcare Award is a reflection on the hard work that everyone at the center has done to improve the quality of life for older adults in the Brazos Valley, the state of Texas and our nation.”

The Healthcare Leadership Council created the Redefining American Healthcare Award to recognize best practices and programs in communities and organizations across the nation that optimize care for high-need patients. Award recipients are organizations developing and activating cost-effective, measurable community programs promoting a patient-centered approach to care that considers outside social factors in order to achieve the best outcomes.