Chairperson's File

Blog posts from 2025 AHA Board Chair Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, and past chairs.
The 2017 chair files will begin highlighting efforts that are improving community health beyond traditional hospital walls. The first of these vignettes from the upcoming 'The Next Generation of Community Health' report is on the Children's Health System of Texas, based in Dallas, and how they are…
Trust is among the most important currencies we have as health care leaders. And during these times of change, we have an opportunity to continue to elevate our role as the steady and trusted voice in our communities. One of the ways to do so is by creating new alliances, approaches and information…
On Jan. 20, 2017, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the presidential inauguration and experience the peaceful transition of power in person. With all its pomp and circumstance, which has occurred nearly 60 times since the days of George Washington, it is hard to put into words the emotions…
The 2016 chairman's columns have focused on inspiring stories about hospitals and health systems that are providing exceptional care to impact lives and transform communities all across the country.
All future performance improvement projects will address health care disparities. That's the commitment and goal at Navicent Health, an 800-bed, not-for-profit health system in Macon, Ga. In 2015, the health system initiated several new quality and safety programs to address disparities, including…
Improving the health of communities where people live, work and play is more important than ever. In early 2017, the AHA's Association for Community Health Improvement (ACHI) convenes its annual conference, bringing together professionals in community health, community benefit and population health…
Quality and safety are “top of the agenda” at urban and rural hospitals across the country. At Howard Memorial Hospital, a 20-bed critical access hospital in Nashville, Ark., a multidisciplinary team led a focused project to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). Educating…
To improve community health, Mason General Hospital & Family of Clinics (MGH&FC) in Shelton, Wash., has launched several programs focused on children's health. Nearly 25% of children in rural Mason County live in poverty, compared to the 18% state average. MGH&FC collaborated with the…
AnMed Health in Anderson, S.C., is working to achieve the three core elements of the AHA's #123forEquity Pledge to Act. #1: AnMed health collects and uses patient race, ethnicity and language data. #2: AnMed Health provides diversity and cultural competency training during orientation for new…
Hospitals are helping students with disabilities transition from school to the workplace. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, a 74-bed hospital in Palmer, Alaska is one of many U.S. hospitals and organizations providing training to young adults with disabilities through Project SEARCH, a national…