Age-Friendly Geriatric Care in Oncology Surgery (AGE-ONC)

AGE-ONC is a one-year quality improvement collaborative between the Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program and the Commission on Cancer (CoC), beginning January 2027. Open to CoC-accredited programs, the project will help hospitals implement a perioperative care bundle for adults age 65 and older undergoing cancer surgery with the goal of improving cancer care for older adult patients.

Participating sites will select one or two cancer surgery disease sites, assess gaps in current care, and develop local workflows based on GSV Age-Friendly standards. Sites will review two cases each week to monitor progress and identify opportunities to improve care. At the end of the collaborative, participating sites will have the opportunity to apply for GSV Age-Friendly verification.

The goals of this project are to:

• Establish consistent preoperative screening for age-related risks, including cognition, function, mobility, nutrition, palliative care needs (if applicable), and social needs.
• Document a management plan for patients with positive screen results.
• Implement postoperative protocols addressing delirium, medication management, pain control minimizing opioid use, nutrition, and hydration.
• Use shared measures to track whether the care bundle is delivered consistently.
• Achieve compliance with all applicable process measures in at least 21 of 24 cases reviewed in the last 3 months of the project (>=90% compliance rate).
• Identify practical changes that sites can sustain beyond the collaborative.
• Optional opportunity to assess preparedness for GSV Age Friendly accreditation.
• Improve cancer surgery patient outcomes for adult patients age 65 and older.

Educational Webinars

Programs interested in participating in this national QI project are encouraged to watch the informational webinar introducing AGE-ONC that discusses project expectations, requirements, and timeline.  

Please contact geriatricsurgery@facs.org with any questions.