Gaining Recovery in Addiction for Community Elders (GRACE) Project: The Impact of Age-Specific Care on Clinical Outcomes and Health Care Resource Utilization in Older Adults With Substance Use Disorder in an Interprofessional Addiction Clinic.

This article examines the impact of the Gaining Recovery in Addiction for Community Elders (GRACE) Project, an interprofessional, age-specific addiction treatment program, on clinical outcomes and health care resource utilization among older adults with substance use disorders (SUD). Compared to a matched group receiving conventional mixed-age "treatment as usual" (TAU), GRACE participants demonstrated longer treatment duration, higher engagement, fewer relapses, and greater improvements in depression, anxiety, hypertension, and diabetes control. Additionally, GRACE patients had significantly fewer inappropriate emergency department visits and avoidable hospitalizations, suggesting more efficient health care use despite more frequent clinic visits. The study highlights the potential benefits of tailored, interdisciplinary addiction care for older adults and suggests advanced practice nurses can play a key role in leading such integrated models, while noting limitations related to sample size, retrospective design, and the COVID-19 pandemic’s influence on care delivery.