Advancing Health

For more than a year, we’ve seen heartbreaking images from the war in Ukraine. The war’s damage has severely limited the ability of Ukrainian health care workers to provide critical aid to their fellow citizens. Hear how one Illinois health care worker has launched a humanitarian effort to deliver much-needed ambulances and medical supplies to the people of Ukraine.

Some experts have suggested that RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) was more severe last year because of an immunity gap from several years of social distancing and COVID-19 precautions. They also suggest that COVID-19 is to blame for the early arrival and more devastating effects of RSV and the flu. Listen to how Advocate Children's Hospital is working towards managing this alarming new gap and ho...

AHA Board Chair John Haupert is joined by Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, based in New Jersey. In this conversation, Haupert and Garrett discuss the important role of hospitals and health systems in leading medical research and innovation to transform health care and make patient care better, accessible and more efficient.

The FBI is the lead agency tasked with investigating cybercrime, including defending hospitals and health systems from frequent cyberattacks. Hear the dramatic story of their recent takedown of the Hive ransomware gang, whose criminal enterprise threatened patient safety.

Clinicians, social service providers and community members make up the health care triangle: strong, connective links between the three create the kind of impactful partnerships that drive progress and advance health. But confronted with finite resources, how can frontline leaders know which tactics and partnerships will bring the best results and lead to the outcome we all seek – healthy, equitab...

Long COVID — with symptoms ranging from fatigue and dizziness to shortness of breath and loss of smell — is disabling millions of Americans. And health care leaders across the country are recognizing the need for a coordinated response to stem the impact of what is essentially our newest chronic illness.

For Women’s History Month, we turn the spotlight to a female-led venture capital firm that is out to change women’s lives for the better. SteelSky Ventures invests in innovative companies that work to improve health outcomes for women by focusing on improving health care access, quality and affordability.

With the distinct challenges facing rural hospitals and health systems, access to critical services — like maternal health care and emergency medical services — is at risk. In this Leadership Dialogue Series podcast, John Haupert, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Grady Health System and the 2023 Chair of AHA’s Board, is joined by Jennifer Havens, CEO of UnityPoint Health – Grinnell Regional Medi...

America is already running short on physicians, and every health labor forecast projects it will only get worse in the next decade or so. Even more alarming the percentage of Black male physicians in the field has been basically unchanged for the past 80 years and isn’t showing signs of growth even now. It’s more important than ever to ask what can be done to attract, recruit and train more talent...

The just-concluded NFL season saw the retirement of one legendary quarterback and the rise of another ready to take his place. Just as athletic leaders change places, so too do health care leaders make way for the next generation. In this episode, we learn more about the AHA Next Generation Leaders Fellowship. Sponsored by Accenture, the year-long program focuses on mentoring promising leaders for...

In most hospitals, highly-trained staff members know just what to do in the case of an emergency, whether it is a fire, hurricane, or even an active shooter. But what happens when that emergency comes in the form of a dangerous cyberattack? Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., has developed a system-wide “off” switch that staff can activate if it is clear that the hospital has come un...

Hospitals and health systems continue to face serious economic challenges relating to escalating expenses and staffing shortages. One health system met the challenge head on. Mary Marran of Care New England explains how they kept their focus on short-term economic recovery plans, while addressing an urgent long-term need — improving access to behavioral health care.

On this Leadership Dialogue Series podcast, two chairs of the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees come together to share their insights on the state of health care in our country, and what hospitals and health systems can look forward to in 2023. John Haupert, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Grady Health System and the 2023 chair of AHA’s board, is joined by the leader he just suc...

For years, hospitals and health systems have shared the goal of developing an interoperable health care information system that shares data across providers. The advantages are significant: faster, more accurate transfer of patient records that can result in more effective treatment. Less of an administrative burden for doctors, nurses and other caregivers. Overall, a smoother system that better s...

Since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in March 2020, our nation’s hospitals have paid a significant financial toll … and psychiatric hospitals are no exception.  Inpatient psychiatric admissions declined heavily throughout the pandemic. And while health professional shortages have long impeded behavioral health care access, the recent and forthcoming retirements of more than half of the current...

In part 4 of this podcast series, Nancy Myers, vice president of leadership system innovation at the American Hospital Association, is joined by clinical services director Lynette Harvey of the Camarillo Health Care District and high risk program manager Maureen Hodge of Community Memorial Health System, both in Ventura County, California. The discussion: understanding the role of hospital and com...

Family caregivers are not just for pediatric and geriatric patients anymore. Family members are caring for patients of all ages and with a wide range of health care needs – from primary care to tertiary advanced care. In today’s episode, Nancy Myers, vice president of leadership system innovation at the American Hospital Association, is joined by gerontologist Dr. Maziar Goshtasbi and high risk pr...

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Quest Diagnostics. Value-based health care is truly a game changer — a model that pays care providers based on patient outcomes, not on the amount of services delivered. It is the wave of the future, the direction that nearly all hospitals and health systems are moving toward towards regardless of size or services provided. Every hospital function has a role to...

Burnout is not new, but the COVID-19 pandemic has helped fuel this workplace phenomenon. As teams banded together over the last two-plus years to support each other and the communities they serve, many of the boundaries and expectations around work and life shifted. The societal impact of the pandemic has redefined expectations for work - and life - and brought us terms like the great resignation...

Thanks for listening to the Advancing Health podcast! We hope you have found it useful and informative! As we wind up 2022 we wanted to re-release two of our most popular episodes from the last year. Advancing Health returns with new episodes in 2023. Until then we hope you and your family have a safe and wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!

Happy holidays and thanks for listening to the Advancing Health podcast. We hope you have found it useful and informative! As we wind up 2022 we wanted to re-release two of our most popular episodes from the last year. Advancing Health returns with new episodes in 2023. Until then we hope you and your family have a safe and wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!

Welcome to final episode of the American Hospital Association's special podcast series #JustLead, a look at how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with AHA awards for innovation collaboration and health equity, are transforming healthcare to better serve their communities. Over the past few years the concept of equity in health care has increasingly been moving from words in an...

The caregiver experience is one that’s deeply personal and unique. Understanding how to support caregivers means hearing their stories, and better understanding their needs and challenges, so that collaboratively-developed programs at the community level can support them. Nancy Myers, vice president of leadership system innovation at the American Hospital Association, leads this second episode of...

Caregiving for a family member or friend affected by a chronic or long-term health condition is an important public health issue affecting millions of people. As the need for family caregivers grows, it’s critical to understand and respond to the physical and mental health burdens they face. In this special Hospital-Community Partnership podcast series, Nancy Myers, vice president of leadership sy...

“We want to make sure that every provider has the ability to protect itself and its patients, and not have to worry about budgets or funding to do the right thing.” Those words from a leading health care cybersecurity expert are music to the ears of hospital and health system leaders whose systems have been the target of criminal cybersecurity intrusions … both attempted and successful. So, how ca...