Advancing Health

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and it is an opportunity to reflect on the generations of Asian Americans who have enriched America’s history and celebrate the nearly 20 million Asian American individuals who are instrumental to our country’s future success. In this podcast, Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president of Health Equity Strategies and executive director of the Insti...

Increases in consolidation and alignment between commercial health plans and pharmacy benefit managers have resulted in a series of business practices designed to steer patients to insurer-affiliated pharmacies and away from patients’ longstanding providers to the detriment of patient care. Under new policies being implemented by a number of large commercial insurance companies, they steer patient...

Join us to hear how Loyola University Health System’s new laboratory approach during the COVID pandemic was able to broaden communication and collaboration between clinicians and hospital leadership, improve patient outcomes and streamline process efficiencies while also increasing visibility for the system and reinforcing Loyola as a premiere resource for diagnosing and treating illnesses. Today’...

Winona Health and the Winona Wellbeing Collaborative have addressed the fragmentation and silos between local agencies and providers. Hear from Rachelle Schultz, Ed. D., CEO, Winona Health and community leaders how the Pathways Community HUB model was used as a framework in designing the Winona Community HUB to serve the unique needs of the region. A community connector from Live Well Winona track...

Medicare Advantage or MA Plans are another way for beneficiaries to get Medicare Part A and Part B coverage delivered through private insurance companies. MA Plans adhere to the rules set by Medicare to cover beneficiaries, but their benefits are delivered by Medicare approved private companies. MA plans are part of a broader trend towards public sources of coverage, like Medicare and Medicaid, in...

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital solutions, including mobile health apps, patient portals and telehealth serve as a critical access point for health care providers to reach patients. However, many individuals have not been able to benefit from these digital solutions. In this podcast, Julia Resnick, director of AHA’s Strategic Initiatives is joined by Priya Bathija, vice president...

1 in 5 children experience a mental illness. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health challenges and suicide risk among children. In this Members in Action podcast featuring maternal and child health efforts, Aisha Syeda, program manager at the AHA is joined by Chanda Chacòn, president and chief executive officer at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center to discuss the hospital’s i...

Over the past few years every leader of health care organization in the country has had to acknowledge the threat of a cyberattack that has the potential to compromise systems and patient safety. In this podcast, John Riggi, AHA's National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk, is speaking with former AHA Chair, Brian Gragnolati, President and CEO of Atlantic Health System about best practices for ca...

The integration of behavioral health and primary health care leads to early detection and treatment of numerous issues. Patients suffering from chronic physical ailments experience better outcomes, as well as an improved quality of life. Creating this integration begins with education and partnerships, both within the health care system and the surrounding community. Denise Dugas is the Senior Dir...

In late March the American Hospital Association's Institute for Diversity and Health Equity rolled out its long awaited Health Equity Roadmap, a national initiative to drive improvement in health care outcomes, health equity, diversity, and inclusion. The Health Equity Roadmap is framework to help hospitals and health care systems chart their own paths towards transformation, dismantle structural...

Over the past few years the goal of health equity has moved into our national conversation about health care in a new, bigger and different way. These days health care leaders don't just say we want to eliminate health disparities. It's evolving into, we have a plan to do this. How to create that plan is the purpose of the new Health Equity Roadmap, released in March by the American Hospital Assoc...

Rural hospitals are community strongholds, serving as the key point of care for nearly 20 percent of Americans. Beyond providing healing and hope, rural hospitals nationwide are pillars of their local economies, creating essential jobs that support families and community vitality. Access to behavioral health services has been a chronic need across rural America for decades. Driven largely by short...

One clear lesson from the pandemic over the past couple of years is that America cannot be strong without its hospitals and health systems being strong, but their strength is under serious stress right now. Caregivers work round the clock to nurse ill patients back to health, yet many hospitals and health systems are themselves not out of the woods yet, due to a confluence of economic factors that...

Ask nearly any health care CEO in America what they consider their number 1 problem and they can answer with one word: Workforce. The pandemic has brought long-simmering workforce challenges to a boil. Over the past couple of years the demands and stress on health care workers has gone way up…while job satisfaction and staff retention has gone way down. What can be done? A new American Hospital As...

Clinicians more so than ever are making the move into leadership positions. As this movement occurs there are many ways these new leaders can make impacts in their organizations not only in addressing workforce challenges but also in increasing diversity and inclusion of health care teams. In today's episode Elisa Arespacochaga, AHA vice president of clinical affairs and workforce, sits down with...

On this Leadership Dialogue Series podcast, AHA Board Chair Wright L. Lassiter III is joined by Matthew Stanley, D.O., a psychiatrist and clinical vice president of the behavioral health service line at Avera Health, based in Sioux Falls, S.D. Wright and Dr. Stanley discuss the impact that COVID-19 has had on people’s mental health and new ways to support increased access to behavioral health serv...

Though recognizing implicit bias is important, hospitals must have an action plan to address it. In this podcast, Priya Bathija, vice president of AHA’s Strategic Initiatives is joined by Dr. Zsakeba Henderson, Senior Vice President and Interim Chief Medical and Health Officer of March of Dimes to discuss why we must educate and train health care professionals, nursing and medical students about i...

In this special Cybersecurity podcast we have the opportunity to talk to leaders of an AHA member hospital who was a victim of a major ransomware attack in the Fall of 2020. Dr. Stephen Leffler, President and Chief Operating Officer and Dr. Douglas Gentile, Chief Medical Information Officer, join us from the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont. John previously interviewed t...

AHA Board Chair Wright L. Lassiter III is joined by Marcus Whitney, founder and partner of Jumpstart Health Investors, to discuss innovation and equity in health care. Whitney emphasizes the importance of hospitals and health systems developing an innovation practice that is integrated with the organization’s operational model. Lassiter and Whitney also talk about the impact that investing in and...

AHA Board Chair Wright L. Lassiter III is joined by Debbie Hatmaker, chief nursing officer of the American Nurses Association Enterprise. Hatmaker shares insights about what to do “systemically” to ensure a hospital environment where nurses feel safe and are supported and valued for their work. Lassiter and Hatmaker also discuss workplace violence, the current nursing shortage and retention strate...

A talented, qualified, engaged and diverse workforce is at the heart of America’s health care system. But hospitals and health systems face mounting and critical staffing shortages that could jeopardize access to care in the communities they serve. As hospitals struggle to retain and support an exhausted workforce they are left looking for unique ways to better support and enhance resilience among...

Rural hospitals are community strongholds, serving as the key point of care for nearly 20% of Americans. Beyond providing healing and hope, rural hospitals nationwide are pillars of their local economies, creating essential jobs that support families and community vitality. Many rural communities struggle with health issues that extend beyond their hospital’s walls. Issues such as transportation,...

The health care experiences of many women, especially women of color, are untold. In her book, “The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women”, author and journalist Anushay Hossain shares her own trauma of giving birth, and explores the eye-opening experiences of many women – who were unheard and subjected to systemic sexism and structural racism. In honor of 2022’s International W...

John Riggi, who spent nearly 30 years as a highly decorated veteran of the FBI and now serves as National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk at the American Hospital Association and their 5000+ member hospitals. In his role, he serves as a national resource to assist members in defending against cyber-attacks and other threats to their organizations. In this special Cybersecurity podcast, we have...

As the field continues to move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic into the new normal, we understand more clearly than ever that our dedicated workforce is the backbone of our health care system. Delivering quality health care through ongoing and emerging challenges depends on our ability to recruit, train, retain and support a resilient and flexible workforce. Hospitals’ and health systems’ abili...