Whereas more than 54 million Americans today are 65 years old or older, and because 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 years old each day, the overall number of older adults is expected to increase to more than 70 million by 2030; Whereas, even before the onset of the COVID–19 pandemic, one-third of all hospitalized patients in the United States were at least 65 years old; Whereas hospitalized older patients are mostly immobile during their admittance, spending less than 43 minutes each day walking even if they were ambulatory when admitted to the hospital; Whereas hospitalized older patients that do not receive sufficient mobility are at the greatest risk of experiencing negative health outcomes, such as sustaining muscle loss and weakness that could be long lasting, and even higher rates of death; Whereas restoring mobility is a goal for many, not necessarily all, hospitalized patients; Whereas more than one-third of adults aged 70 years old and older are discharged from a hospital with a major, new functional disability not present on admission to the hospital; Whereas one year after discharge from a hospital, fewer than one-third of older adults who developed a hospital-acquired functional disability have recovered to their pre-hospitalization function status; Whereas adults with a hospital-associated disability are three times more likely to be admitted to a nursing home; Whereas regular physical mobility during hospitalization is critical to preventing functional decline and frailty; Whereas mobility initiatives decrease hospital length of stay and overall cost of care, such as a 36-percent reduction in intensive care unit length of stay, a 33-percent reduction in overall hospital length of stay, a 46-percent reduction in the number of days on a ventilator, and a 30-percent reduction in overall hospital costs; Whereas mobility programs in acute care settings improve the likelihood that patients are discharged directly to their homes and bypass a skilled nursing facility