Chairperson's File
Blog posts from 2025 AHA Board Chair Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, and past chairs.
Change can be uncomfortable. But no matter how sophisticated, hospitals and health care systems need to progress鈥攖o redefine, change and be relevant. Hospital teams are working to find better ways to provide high-quality care at lower costs to improve the health of people in their communities鈥
Building a culture that is inclusive and founded on principles of diversity was a 鈥渒ey destination point鈥 defined several years ago by the board of CHRISTUS Health.
Identifying solutions to reduce hospital-acquired conditions. Working to spread this knowledge to other hospitals and health care providers. Plus, rigorous strategic planning, initiative implementation, data collection and analysis, and continuous assessment: This describes the work of the Hospital鈥
Community members are integral partners at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania, helping to ensure high-quality, equitable care. Based in the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Hazleton, LVHN for many years had provided culturally competent services, including telephonic interpreters,鈥
Preventing falls has been in the news recently, and with good reason: Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries; in 2012, 24 million nonfatal falls among older adults were treated in EDs and more than 722,000 of these patients were hospitalized, per the CDC鈥
How is your hospital building a culture of health in the community? That is, a culture in which adults and children鈥攚hatever their ethnic, geographic, racial or socioeconomic circumstance may be鈥攍ive longer, healthier lives and have access to high-quality health care when, where and how鈥
Diversity has become a core value at U.S. hospitals. Meridian Health, a not-for-profit health care organization in New Jersey, displays its diversity statement, central to mission and vision, at its six hospitals as well as its nursing and rehabilitation centers and outpatient centers鈥攁nd鈥
Making incremental changes and collaborating with area hospitals and community organizations have been a winning combination for improving care coordination and reducing readmissions at Bon Secours Baltimore Health System. The health system serves a West Baltimore population with 20% of families鈥
Nearly 1,500 U.S. hospitals are working to eliminate patient harm and reduce hospital readmissions by participating in the AHA/HRET Hospital Engagement Network. About 200 of these hospitals have currently met the national reduction goals established through the CMS Partnership for Patients鈥
The answer is HPOE.org. The question: Where do hospital and care system leaders find resources and tools to improve patient safety, quality, clinical integration, population health, and much more? The Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence website has one section devoted to the second curve of health鈥