2023 Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award Winner and Finalists

Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital serves a population that is approximately 30% Native Hawaiian, and some communities in its service area have even larger percentages. Native Hawaiians experience tremendous health disparities with poorer health status, higher chronic disease risk and a life expectancy that is seven years less than everyone else in the state. Hawaii Island faces significant disparities in access to health care due to provider shortages, limited health services and challenges in transportation. Guided by its Kahua Ola (foundation of health) plan and Hawaii’s Community Health Needs Assessment, Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital implemented initiatives toward eliminating the existing health disparities and improving the quality of life for vulnerable patients with complex care needs.

The finalists include:

• The teams at Providence Alaska in Seward, Valdez and Kodiak, Alaska. The hospitals collaborated across distant locations to design local housing solutions to meet their needs. The Providence hospitals are feeling the positive impact as the use of travelers has dropped, employee satisfaction is rising, and stress on existing caregivers is being reduced.
   
• CEO Ella Goss; Cass Health in Atlantic, Iowa and team who, through Cass Health's labor and delivery services; student experience program; and Health Equity Committee, are three initiatives that allows Cass Health to provide outstanding care in Iowa.
   
• CEO Brett Altman; and Hannibal Regional Healthcare System and teams who through Hannibal’s innovative workforce pipeline starting in the K-12 setting, moving in to the community college level, university degree programs, and most recently the terminal degrees in internal medicine is a direct investment that will benefit the health care needs of rural Missouri for generations to come.