Advancing Health

For health care organizations, recruitment and diversity for the board of trustees is vitally important. In this conversation, Schonay Barnett-Jones, trustee at Children’s National Hospital and AHA board member, discusses strategies for recruiting a diverse board of trustees to any health care organization, and how to engage and retain the next generation of future board members.To learn more about the American Hospital Association's Trustee Services, please visit https://trustees.aha.org/

The recent Hurricane Helene disrupted the production and supply of IV fluids — a reminder of our nation’s fragile health care supply chain. In this conversation, Michael Schiller, executive director of the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), and Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), discuss the need to create a conservation plan for critical patient supplies that could be threatened by a disaster.

Customers at All in the Wrists barbershop in Indianapolis don't just get a haircut and beard trim at their appointment — they also receive blood pressure checks for hypertension, diabetes education, and important resources to assist with health care barriers. In this conversation, Marvin Taylor, owner of All in the Wrists, and Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, M.D., vice president and chief health equity officer at Indiana University Health, discuss the importance of barbershops in the African American community, and how community health workers inside these barbershops are providing valuable health care and education.To see the video on IU Health and All in the Wrists partnership, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYGawZ34n9s

Englewood Health and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital were both finalists of the AHA's 2024 Foster G. McGaw Prize, which recognizes the efforts of hospitals and health systems to improve the health and well-being of their communities. In this conversation, Andres Nieto, director of community health outreach and marketing with NewYork-Presbyterian, and Jamie Ketas, vice president of population health with Englewood Health, discuss how communities and health systems can intersect to improve quality of life, and how solutions can target populations with specific health care barriers.

Creating mental health resources is an important "step one" in broadening patient access. Step two? Getting people to take advantage of that access. In this conversation, Gaurava Agarwal, M.D., chief wellness executive at Northwestern Medicine, shares how the health system approached access awareness within its communities, and the steps needed to ensure that mental health support services are available.

October is National Hispanic Heritage Month. In this conversation, Jennifer Cohen, M.D., medical director of Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, King of Prussia, and Katie Costantini, director of maternal care services at Chester County Hospital, discuss the barriers that can affect maternal care in Hispanic populations, and how deploying bilingual volunteers provided the opportunity to learn what worked and what could be be improved.

Some pediatric and adolescent patients are considered to have medical complexity — multiple conditions that require numerous health care service lines. In today's new Caring for Our Kids episode, explore how Children's Colorado has designed seamless care for medically complex kids and their families.

Improving patient safety is every caregiver's concern, but what does this look like in health care's rapidly changing environment? In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Steven Diaz, M.D., chief medical officer at MaineGeneral Health and board member at the American Hospital Association, discusses his passion for patient safety, how his organization strives to meet quality care for its community, and how AI could potentially be incorporated into the overall work of patient safety.This is an edited conversation. To view the full conversation, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzia8UmU_qc

Accessing mental health and addiction services can be especially difficult in rural communities, and solutions can be scarce. In this conversation, Brenda Romero, administrator at Presbyterian Española Hospital, discusses the methods for accessing treatment and the importance of the hospital's innovative and community-focused work.

Clinical validation audits are a new tactic that certain commercial insurers are adopting to reduce or deny payment to health care providers. These audits can take months or even years to be adjudicated and resolved. In this conversation, Richelle Marting, director of managed care contracting at North Kansas City Hospital, and Chris Thompson, executive director of reimbursement and compliance for managed care at AdventHealth, discuss the rapid growth in these audits, the financial strain they can put on hospitals and health systems, and what can be done to protect providers.

Since 1982, The John A. Hartford Foundation has been a national leader in raising awareness and improving health care for older adults. In this conversation, Rani Snyder, vice president, Program at The John A. Hartford Foundation, discusses the importance of Action Communities in age-friendly care, and why health organizations should use the tools they provide to build exceptional care frameworks.

The Farmer Angel Network is a support group devoted to suicide prevention in Wisconsin's farming communities. In this conversation, Brenda Statz, co-founder of the Farmer Angel Network, Carey Craker, marketing and volunteer services associate at Reedsburg Area Medical Center, and Christy Updike, transformation program manager at Sauk Prairie Healthcare, discuss how this impactful work began, the domino effect that suicide can have in farming towns, and the resources available to support families and loved ones.

The American Hospital Association's Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award honors the most outstanding examples of health equity across America. In today's conversation, this year's winners discuss the successful strategies they’ve implemented to advance the work of health equity in their hospitals and beyond.

The devastating 2023 Maui wildfires claimed 102 lives, destroyed more than 2,200 structures and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damages. One year later, as communities recover, caregivers and first responders are reflecting on what was learned and how to prepare for future disasters. In this conversation, Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, describes how the tragedy unfolded, the steps health care providers took in the face of an unparalleled crisis and what can be improved when the next disaster strikes.This podcast episode is presented as part of Cooperative Agreement 5 HITEP210047-03-00, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The Health Research & Educational Trust, an American Hospital Association 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary, is a proud partner of this Cooperative Agreement. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the Health Research & Educational T

Health care leaders are learning that removing silos between physical and mental health care not only benefits patients, but also helps with the recruitment and retention of desperately needed behavioral health specialists. In this conversation, Stacey Ouellette, director of Behavioral Health Integration with Maine Behavioral Healthcare, discusses the positive impact integrated care has had on workplace productivity and satisfaction, and how it's made their teams more connected across the organization.

Advancing Health's new series, “Caring for Our Kids,” focuses on how pediatric hospitals are meeting the needs of their communities. In this first episode, learn about the Texas Children's Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Program, and the impact it has had on the lives of young cancer patients.

Most maternal deaths do not occur in the hospital, but after discharge, postpartum to one year. And there are equity challenges; Black women die at three times the rate of white women from birth-related complications. In this conversation, Veronica Gillispie-Bell, M.D., OB-GYN at Ochsner Health, discusses successful strategies to reduce maternal morbidity after childbirth, and how these solutions should always start with equity at the forefront.

Everyone in a health care organization has a role to play to advance health equity, but what does it take to weave this important work into the fabric of everyday operations? In this conversation, Children's Mercy Kansas City's John Cowden, M.D., director of the Culture & Language Coaching Program, and Jessi Johnson, health equity specialist, discuss what makes equity integration at the health system so unique, and how initial discussions with employees helped guide equity principles. 

Advancing health equity is a key priority for the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA), with both developing key initiatives and programs dedicated to these efforts. In this conversation, Joy Lewis, senior vice president of health equity strategies at the AHA, speaks with Aletha Maybank, M.D., senior vice president and chief health equity officer at the AMA, about the challenges in the health equity space, and the opportunities that can make a difference in health care across America.

The American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize recognizes exceptional health care leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health in America’s communities. In this conversation, leaders from the 2024 Quest for Quality winner, WellSpan Health, and finalists Carilion Clinic, Jefferson Health and MUSC Health, discuss their organizations' work in providing safe, patient- and family-centered care, and share how they partner with community organizations to keep quality health care accessible.