AHA Stat Blog

Health care has always been a demanding profession, and the effects of the last few years have meant that health care workers have been asked to do more with less.

On this episode, I talk with Jesse Tamplen, vice president of behavioral health services at John Muir Health, located east of San Francisco, and a member of the AHA Committee on Behavioral Health.

After three years of caring on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers are confronting a landscape deeply altered by its effects, including the emergence of behavioral health care as an even greater challenge.

Arpan Waghray, M.D., CEO, Providence’s Well Being Trust Past Chair, American Hospital Association Committee on Behavioral Health

Advancing health equity must be of utmost importance for all of us working in hospitals and health systems.

>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common causes of infant deaths in 2020 were birth defects, preterm birth and low-birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome.

Yesterday marked the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. For more than three years, hospitals, health systems and front-line health care workers have worked tirelessly to care for patients, comfort families and protect communities.

Hospitals have always worked diligently to improve patient safety, making many important strides in the last two decades. Yet, various reports and rankings of hospital performance in recent months might lead you to believe that hospitals have taken their foot off the gas. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, hospitals have never stopped focusing on improving the care they provide, even under the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week as we celebrate National Hospital Week (https://www.aha.org/ahia/get-involved/national-hospital-week) and National Nurses Week (https://www.aonl.org/about/nurses-week), it’s a perfect time for telling the hospital story.

This year’s observance of National Hospital Week, May 7-13, and National Nurses Week, May 6-12, are opportunities to thank our dedicated caregivers and recognize the tremendous job they have done taking care of our country through one of the most trying episodes in our history.