OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 11, 2025--
Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI) is proud to announce its designation as an Age-Friendly Health System, Level 2 – Committed to Care Excellence, awarded by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the John A. Hartford Foundation. This recognition underscores CEI’s dedication to providing high-quality, person-centered care that meets the unique needs of older adults.
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CEI’s designation as an Age-Friendly Health System, awarded in November 2024, aligns perfectly with its best practices, centered around the 4Ms framework. These essential components prioritize the health and well-being of older adults enrolled in CEI programs throughout the San Francisco East Bay Area.
The 4Ms framework focuses on:
“Achieving the highest Level 2 Committed to Care Excellence designation validates our commitment to providing high-quality, person-centered healthcare for seniors,” said Maria Zamora, President and CEO of CEI. “Our team is dedicated to integrating the 4Ms into every aspect of our care delivery, ensuring that every interaction supports our participants' health and dignity.”
CEI joins over 4,300 health systems nationwide that have earned Age-Friendly Health System recognition, reinforcing its position as a leader in senior healthcare in the San Francisco East Bay Area.
Dr. James Mittelberger, Chief Medical Officer of CEI, emphasized the importance of the 4Ms framework, noting, “Medical care for seniors is distinct from that of younger adults. Our commitment to What Matters Most forms the foundation of our care plans, empowering our participants to make informed choices and achieve their healthcare goals.”
The Age-Friendly Health Systems movement aims to enhance healthcare for older adults through evidence-based practices. As of August 2023, more than 1,900 healthcare organizations have received the Committed to Care Excellence designation, impacting over 2.48 million older adults globally.
To learn more about the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, visit www.ihi.org/AgeFriendly.
About Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI)
Now in its 43rd year in the East Bay, CEI is a comprehensive healthcare model for vulnerable older adults. CEI serves more than 1200 senior participants using PACE (the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), which provides medical care and integrated support services, enabling older adults with multiple health challenges to live safely in a home and their community setting for as long as possible. CEI provides PACE services at five PACE Centers in San Leandro, East Oakland, Downtown Oakland, Berkeley and Concord.
CEI also provides care coordination for more than 695 residents of all ages in Alameda and Contra Costa counties through the Home and Community Based Alternatives (HCBA) waiver program. The program helps disabled persons aged 18 and over to stay living independently in their communities. For more information about Center for Elders’ Independence, visit www.elders.org or call (844) 319-1150.
CEI’s designation as an Age-Friendly Health System aligns with its best practices, centered around the 4Ms framework. These essential components prioritize the health and well-being of older adults enrolled in CEI programs throughout the San Francisco East Bay Area. (Graphic: Business Wire)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia's delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday, and a Ukrainian official said a delegation including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on its way the the Turkish capital Ankara.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not part of the delegation from Moscow, however, according to a list released by the Kremlin Wednesday night, prompting criticism from Western officials that the Kremlin isn't serious about the peace effort.
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will lead the Russian delegation that will also include three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey. Zelenskyy said he would travel to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and wait for Putin.
A Ukrainian delegation including Zelenskyy was due to arrive in Ankara on Thursday, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Also in the delegation are Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak, the official said.
He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons as the team had not yet arrived in Ankara.
“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a NATO meeting taking place separately in Turkey. "The talks in Istanbul hopefully may open a new chapter.”
But Zelenskyy will sit at the table only with Putin, Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said.
Details about whether, when and where the Ukrainian delegation might meet their Russian counterparts are still unclear but is expected to be clarified after Zelenskyy and Erdogan meet, according to a Ukrainian official who requested anonymity to speak openly about the day’s plan.
Tass said that the talks were to take place in a presidential office on the Bosporus.
Putin on Wednesday evening held a meeting with senior government officials and members of the delegation in preparation for the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov, and National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu attended the meeting, among others.
Kyiv and its European allies had urged the Kremlin to agree to a full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward peace. Putin effectively rejected the proposal, offering direct talks between Russia and Ukraine instead.
The Kremlin billed Thursday’s talks as a “restart” of peace negotiations that were held in Istanbul in the first weeks of the war in 2022 but quickly fell apart. Moscow accused Ukraine and the West of wanting to continue fighting, while Kyiv said Russia’s demands amounted to an ultimatum rather than something both sides could agree on.
Russia's delegation then was also headed by Vladimir Medinsky.
Putin's proposal came after more than three months of diplomacy kickstarted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who promised during his campaign to end the devastating war swiftly. The Trump administration in recent weeks indicated that it might walk away from the peace effort if there was no tangible progress soon.
Trump had pressed for Putin and Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul but said Thursday he wasn't surprised that Putin was a no-show. He brushed off Putin’s decision to not take part in the talks.
“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said during a roundtable in Doha, Qatar
The U.S. and Western European leaders have threatened Russia with further sanctions if there is no progress in halting the fighting.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio and Senator Lindsey Graham in the Turkish city of Antalya late Wednesday night. Antalya on Thursday is hosting NATO foreign ministers to discuss new defense investment goals as the U.S. shifts its focus to security challenges away from Europe.
Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine’s support for Trump’s mediation efforts and thanked the U.S. for its continued involvement, urging Moscow to “reciprocate Ukraine’s constructive steps” toward peace. "So far, it has not,” Sybiha said.
On Thursday morning, Sybiha also met with other European foreign ministers, including his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, who in a post on X reiterated the call for a ceasefire and the threat of “massive sanctions” if Russia doesn't comply.
“We’re in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future," Rubio said Thursday.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, also in Antalya for the NATO talks, accused Moscow of not being willing to to engage in a serious peace process.
“We have one chair empty, which is the chair of Vladimir Putin. So now I guess the entire world has realized that there’s only one party not willing to engage in serious peace negotiations, and that certainly is Russia," Valtonen said.
Barrot echoed her sentiment: “In front of Ukrainians there is an empty chair, one that should have been occupied by Vladimir Putin,” he said. “Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet and in all evidence does not want to enter into these peace discussions.”
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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels; Illia Novikov and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Matthew Lee in Antalya, Turkey contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on forthcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
