AGS CoCare®: HELP (Hospital Elder Life Program) Pre-Conference Session

All sessions are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 

Pre-conference Session

  • Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
  • Time: -
  • Track: Clinical Practice
  • CME/CE: TBD

Additional fee session

The AGS CoCare®: HELP program, formerly known as The Hospital Elder Life Program, originally created by Dr. Sharon Inouye, is a well-studied, effective, and innovative model of hospital care designed to prevent both delirium and functional decline. Learn about implementation strategies and how your hospital can adopt the program, as well as strategies for sustainability & longevity to ensure success of AGS CoCare: HELP in the hospital. Learning Objectives: (1) describe the impact of hospital-acquired delirium on patient outcomes, workforce burden, and organizational quality metrics; (2) identify innovative strategies that support reliable delirium prevention; (3) discuss practical methods for leveraging pre-professional and health science students as interns or volunteers to enhance delirium prevention efforts while supporting workforce development; (4) explain how electronic health record tools can be used to proactively identify patients at highest risk for delirium; and (5) identify strategies leaders can use to translate delirium risk reduction initiatives into measurable clinical and operational results.

TimeTopicSpeaker(s)
10:00am

Welcome / Logistics 

 

Deena Sandos, MSW
Senior Manager, Special Projects
American Geriatrics Society 

10:10am

 

AGS CoCare®: HELP Overview Lyn Weinberg, MD
Director, Division of Geriatrics; HELP Medical Director
Allegheny Health Network

10:40am

 

Playful Motion: Turning Exercise into Enjoyment

 

Angela Catic, MD, MEd 
Associate Chief of Staff for Education
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Associate Professor
Baylor College of Medicine 
11:20amExchange & Engage – Breakout Rooms 
12:20pmBreak

12:35pm

 

From Risk to Results: Making Delirium Prevention a Leadership Priority

 

Regina S. Cunningham, PhD, RN, AOCN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Professor of Nursing
University of Pennsylvania

 

1:15pm

 

Panel: Innovation in AGS CoCare®: HELP 

  • Adherence Rate Tracking Database

  • Using Pre-Professional/Health Science Students as Program Interns/Volunteers 

  • Epic Tool to Auto Screen Highest Risk Patients 

     

  • Rebecca Trotta, PhD, RN, NEA-BC 
    Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

  • Laura Baker, MS, ARNP, FNP-BC 
    UnityPoint Health - Des Moines

  • Ayla Raye-Leonard, RN
    Rush University Medical Center

 

2:00pmDelirium on Dementia: Everyday Clinical Challenges and EncountersTBA
2:40pm

The Value of Older Adult Volunteers

 

Robbin Moulds, AM 
Program Manager - Hospital Elder Life Program
Grampians Health

 

3:20pmClosing RemarksLyn Weinberg, MD
Director, Division of Geriatrics; HELP Medical Director
Allegheny Health Network