Member Resource: Building and Maintaining Public Trust and Confidence
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Hospitals Leading the Way to a Healthier America
Hospitals have always been at the heart of community health empowering healthier, happier lives for all.
AHA Launches New Multimedia Advertising Campaign to Promote Hospitals
The campaign includes a commercial that will run on national, cable, and digital TV and digital advertising.
New Resources Spotlight Crucial Role of Rural Hospitals and Health Systems
The AHA released new resources to help rural hospitals and health systems share their stories and highlight the vital role they play in their communities.
Creative repurposing saves heart during double-lung transplant
Old technology — applied in new and novel ways — can still be a lifesaver.
All Stories
Building Healthy Communities
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is leveraging digital health to expand diabetes education and support for rural communities across the state, addressing significant access barriers such as long travel distances and limited local resources.
Building Healthy Communities
Intermountain Health St. James Hospital
Montana
Frankee Angel, a lifelong performer, found her world upended when she suffered a sudden medical emergency just before playing piano at St. Patrick’s Church.
Building Healthy Communities
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is demonstrating the powerful impact of its Food Is Medicine program.
Ensuring Access to Care
Sanford Health
Sioux Falls/Rapid City, S.D.
Storks delivering babies may be a flight of fancy, but a real South Dakota maternal-fetal medicine specialist flies hundreds of miles each week to reach rural patients who would otherwise face hours-long drives for specialized care.
Ensuring Access to Care
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Little Rock, Ark.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital is utilizing telemedicine to expand access to care and support rural hospitals that lack pediatric cardiac MRI and CT expertise.
Ensuring Access to Care
Northern Cochise Community Hospital
Cochise County, Ariz.
In rural Cochise County, Ariz., many older adults struggle with limited incomes, chronic health conditions, and scarce access to essential resources. Geographic isolation and high poverty rates among seniors make basic needs — such as adult incontinence supplies — difficult to afford.
Benefiting Communities
MultiCare Valley Hospital
Spokane, Wash.
Every December, health care workers at MultiCare Valley Hospital, based in Spokane, Wash., take on extra seasonal roles: holiday “elves." For nine years, the staff has organized a gift drive to support local children, donating presents and essential items to families who need them most.
Benefiting Communities
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, sits down with Mark Boucot, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital, to explore how rural hospitals can leverage technology and partnerships to deliver care close to home.
Benefiting Communities
Manning Family Children’s Hospital
New Orleans, La.
Manning Family Children’s Hospital has become the first facility in Louisiana and the broader Gulf South region to earn verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
University of Iowa Health Care
Iowa City, Iowa
University of Iowa Health announced in early February 2026 that it had successfully completed its first robotic living donor nephrectomy, a procedure performed by transplant surgeon Ramy El-Diwany, M.D.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Nebraska Medicine - Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Neb.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has launched Familyroom.health, a digital platform designed to support families of patients in intensive care.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Baton Rouge General, Woman's Hospital, Ochsner Health, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne General Health System, LCMC Health, Lake Charles Memorial Health System, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
Louisiana
Several Louisiana health systems have jointly launched MyChart Central, creating the first statewide, unified patient portal experience.
Prevention and Wellness
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is leveraging digital health to expand diabetes education and support for rural communities across the state, addressing significant access barriers such as long travel distances and limited local resources.
Prevention and Wellness
HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital
Port St. Lucie, Fla.
It was Angela and Christopher’s wedding anniversary, but it looked like they wouldn’t be able to celebrate it. Angela, a nurse at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, wasn’t working — instead, she was a patient recovering from surgery to address severe abdominal pain. But her co-workers and friends weren’t going to let the day pass by.
Prevention and Wellness
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman
Kaufman, Texas
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman is strengthening community wellness through its Healthy Education Lifestyles Program (HELP), an initiative designed to give patients both clinical support and practical health education.
Workforce
St. Charles Health System
Bend, Ore.
St. Charles Health System, based in Bend, Ore., is investing in the future of its workforce — and by extension, the health of the entire central Oregon community — through a new educational initiative.
Workforce
In this conversation, Gratia Pitcher, M.D., chief medical officer and patient experience dyad leader with Essentia Health, and Larissa Africa, vice president of health care workforce solutions with Staff Garden by Ascend Learning, discuss findings from the 2026 AHA Health Care Workforce Scan.
Workforce
East Alabama Health
Opelika, Ala.
Maintaining a trained workforce is one of the greatest challenges facing rural hospitals today. In Alabama, the shortage is particularly and increasingly severe, especially when it comes to nurses. East Alabama Health is addressing the problem in multiple ways.
Building Healthy Communities
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is leveraging digital health to expand diabetes education and support for rural communities across the state, addressing significant access barriers such as long travel distances and limited local resources.
Building Healthy Communities
Intermountain Health St. James Hospital
Montana
Frankee Angel, a lifelong performer, found her world upended when she suffered a sudden medical emergency just before playing piano at St. Patrick’s Church.
Building Healthy Communities
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is demonstrating the powerful impact of its Food Is Medicine program.
Building Healthy Communities
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman
Kaufman, Texas
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman is strengthening community wellness through its Healthy Education Lifestyles Program (HELP), an initiative designed to give patients both clinical support and practical health education.
Building Healthy Communities
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, Pa.
Backed by a recent $500,000 federal grant, Penn State Health’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will strengthen its role as a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center, enhancing its ability to care for patients with rare, high-risk infectious diseases.
Backed by a $500,000 federal grant, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will strengthen its role as a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center
Building Healthy Communities
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital
Torrington, Conn.
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s Connecticut Mental Health Center has a certified opiate addiction counselor that helps individuals who are dependent on opiates connect with resources throughout the region.
Building Healthy Communities
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
This holiday season, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is strengthening food security across the Aloha State by supporting nonprofits that expand access to nutritious, locally grown food.
Building Healthy Communities
AdventHealth Littleton
Littleton, Colo.
Lisa Hackett, an occupational therapist at AdventHealth Littleton, understands the profound impact of concussions through personal experience.
Building Healthy Communities
Sharon Hospital
Sharon, Conn.
The Senior Behavioral Health Unit at Sharon Hospital, which serves rural northwestern Connecticut, provides short-term inpatient psychiatric care for adults age 55 or older.
Ensuring Access to Care
Sanford Health
Sioux Falls/Rapid City, S.D.
Storks delivering babies may be a flight of fancy, but a real South Dakota maternal-fetal medicine specialist flies hundreds of miles each week to reach rural patients who would otherwise face hours-long drives for specialized care.
Ensuring Access to Care
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Little Rock, Ark.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital is utilizing telemedicine to expand access to care and support rural hospitals that lack pediatric cardiac MRI and CT expertise.
Ensuring Access to Care
Northern Cochise Community Hospital
Cochise County, Ariz.
In rural Cochise County, Ariz., many older adults struggle with limited incomes, chronic health conditions, and scarce access to essential resources. Geographic isolation and high poverty rates among seniors make basic needs — such as adult incontinence supplies — difficult to afford.
Ensuring Access to Care
Clifton-Fine Hospital
St. Lawrence County, N.Y.
Clifton-Fine Hospital in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., adjacent to the Canadian border, was long challenged by low patient numbers and an outdated, cramped emergency room so small and crowded that staff struggled to treat multiple patients with space or privacy.
Ensuring Access to Care
Oklahoma Children’s Hospital
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Ranger’s care journey was a long one — from Durant, Okla., to Austin, Texas, and finally OU Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City.
Ensuring Access to Care
CommonSpirit Health
Chicago, Ill.
Even the most experienced health care leaders can feel lost as patients. In this conversation, Ji Im, system senior director of community and population health at CommonSpirit Health, explores why seamless navigation, community partnerships and human connection are essential to reducing friction and improving the health care experience.
Ensuring Access to Care
John Muir Health
Walnut Creek, Calif.
Mental health is a top community health need nationwide. In this conversation, John Muir Health's Jesse Tamplen, vice president of care coordination, and Jamie Elmasu, director of community health improvement, explain how community health assessments (CHAs), data-driven planning and nonprofit partnerships, are expanding access to patients who need it most.
Ensuring Access to Care
M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center
Minneapolis
As pharmacy closures accelerate nationwide, M Health Fairview is proving what’s possible when a health system steps up.
Ensuring Access to Care
Tufts Medicine
Boston, Mass.
The Tufts Medicine Center for Health Literacy Research + Practice works to reduce health literacy barriers for patients, families, clinicians and health care organizations.
Benefiting Communities
MultiCare Valley Hospital
Spokane, Wash.
Every December, health care workers at MultiCare Valley Hospital, based in Spokane, Wash., take on extra seasonal roles: holiday “elves." For nine years, the staff has organized a gift drive to support local children, donating presents and essential items to families who need them most.
Benefiting Communities
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, sits down with Mark Boucot, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital, to explore how rural hospitals can leverage technology and partnerships to deliver care close to home.
Benefiting Communities
Manning Family Children’s Hospital
New Orleans, La.
Manning Family Children’s Hospital has become the first facility in Louisiana and the broader Gulf South region to earn verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.
Benefiting Communities
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is demonstrating the powerful impact of its Food Is Medicine program.
Benefiting Communities
Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital
Grand Junction, Colo.
The simple rosaries given to patients at Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital offer comfort far beyond their modest appearance.
Benefiting Communities
Onvida Health
Yuma, Ariz.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and Onvida Health are partnering to establish Arizona’s first rural regional medical school branch in Yuma County.
Benefiting Communities
Morristown Medical Center
Morristown, N.J.
In late November, a man stood outside the Morristown Medical Center holding a handwritten sign that said, "Thank you all in emergency for saving my wife's life. I love you all."
Benefiting Communities
NewYork-Presbyterian
New York, N.Y.
NewYork-Presbyterian announced the launch of its Hospital-at-Home program in November, designed to provide hospital-level care to eligible patients in the comfort of their homes.
Benefiting Communities
Providence St. Patrick Hospital
Missoula, Mont.
Providence, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health systems, has partnered with Missoula’s Providence St. Patrick Hospital and the University of Montana to launch RESOLVE, a groundbreaking rural health collaborative.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
University of Iowa Health Care
Iowa City, Iowa
University of Iowa Health announced in early February 2026 that it had successfully completed its first robotic living donor nephrectomy, a procedure performed by transplant surgeon Ramy El-Diwany, M.D.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Nebraska Medicine - Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Neb.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has launched Familyroom.health, a digital platform designed to support families of patients in intensive care.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Baton Rouge General, Woman's Hospital, Ochsner Health, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne General Health System, LCMC Health, Lake Charles Memorial Health System, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
Louisiana
Several Louisiana health systems have jointly launched MyChart Central, creating the first statewide, unified patient portal experience.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Lake Charles Memorial Health System
Lake Charles, La.
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital has launched Mission Move Well, a systemwide initiative built on the Arjo MOVE framework to support patient mobility, strengthen staff response and improve patient safety.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Mass.
Kieran, a 57-year-old father of three, joined the American Heart Association’s 2024 Boston Heart Walk just over a year after receiving a heart transplant. His participation in the one-mile walk reflected his progress toward recovery and his desire to support heart disease advocacy and research.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center
Las Vegas, Nev.
Las Vegas-based Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center recently completed Nevada’s first FDA‑approved minimally invasive repair for complex aortic aneurysms, a life-threatening condition involving the body’s main artery.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
CommonSpirit Health
Chicago, Ill.
In this conversation, Thomas McGinn, M.D., MPH, senior executive vice president and chief physician executive officer at CommonSpirit Health, shares how the organization aligns leadership, standardizes processes, and uses analytics to reduce variation and improve patient outcomes — work that made CommonSpirit Health a 2025 finalist for the AHA Quest for Quality Prize.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
JPS Health Network
Fort Worth, Texas
Is lived experience one of the most underused tools in health care today?
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Phoenix, Ariz.
Dr. Paul Sorajja, a nationally recognized leader in interventional cardiology at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, has pioneered a groundbreaking treatment for patients with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC), a condition that previously made heart valve surgery too risky.
Prevention and Wellness
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is leveraging digital health to expand diabetes education and support for rural communities across the state, addressing significant access barriers such as long travel distances and limited local resources.
Prevention and Wellness
HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital
Port St. Lucie, Fla.
It was Angela and Christopher’s wedding anniversary, but it looked like they wouldn’t be able to celebrate it. Angela, a nurse at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, wasn’t working — instead, she was a patient recovering from surgery to address severe abdominal pain. But her co-workers and friends weren’t going to let the day pass by.
Prevention and Wellness
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman
Kaufman, Texas
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman is strengthening community wellness through its Healthy Education Lifestyles Program (HELP), an initiative designed to give patients both clinical support and practical health education.
Prevention and Wellness
Cottage Hospital
Woodsville, N.H.
Designed as a “caring and sensitive environment,” the Ray of Hope unit at Cottage Hospital addresses behavioral health needs associated with aging.
Prevention and Wellness
Mass General Brigham
Boston, Mass.
Mass General Brigham is investing $9 million through its Community Health Impact Funds to address rising food insecurity in Boston and the surrounding cities of Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop.
Prevention and Wellness
University of Tennessee Medical Center
Knoxville, Tenn.
Naming a baby is a big decision. Naming two babies takes it to another level. Naming two preemies while hundreds of miles from home is something most parents don’t even want to think about, but that’s the situation Isaac and Kaitlin Carver found themselves in when Kaitin’s water broke at 28 weeks pregnant.
Prevention and Wellness
Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Unique Boutique at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital is a store with an exclusive clientele. Shoppers aren’t celebrities or fashion icons; instead, they’re patients who are experiencing medical-related hair loss.
Prevention and Wellness
Beacon Health
South Bend, Ind.
In this conversation, Beacon Health System's Kimberly Green Reeves, vice president of community impact and partnerships, and Cassy White, director of community impact, share how data, care coordination and community involvement are helping reduce infant mortality in Michigan and Indiana.
Prevention and Wellness
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.
Nurses from the Arkansas Center for Women & Infants’ Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have launched an outreach initiative to support postpartum mothers.
Workforce
St. Charles Health System
Bend, Ore.
St. Charles Health System, based in Bend, Ore., is investing in the future of its workforce — and by extension, the health of the entire central Oregon community — through a new educational initiative.
Workforce
In this conversation, Gratia Pitcher, M.D., chief medical officer and patient experience dyad leader with Essentia Health, and Larissa Africa, vice president of health care workforce solutions with Staff Garden by Ascend Learning, discuss findings from the 2026 AHA Health Care Workforce Scan.
Workforce
East Alabama Health
Opelika, Ala.
Maintaining a trained workforce is one of the greatest challenges facing rural hospitals today. In Alabama, the shortage is particularly and increasingly severe, especially when it comes to nurses. East Alabama Health is addressing the problem in multiple ways.
Workforce
In this conversation, Thomas Ahr, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Hospital Sisters Health System, details how the health system is prioritizing prevention, supporting staff after incidents, and turning safety into a leadership responsibility.
Workforce
Decatur Memorial Hospital
Decatur, Ill.
Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH) is celebrating a major milestone as its Nurse Anesthesia Program reaches 60 years of educating skilled professionals for Central Illinois and beyond.
Workforce
Loma Linda University Children’s Health
Loma Linda, Calif.,
For Heather Kono, a pediatric oncology nurse at Loma Linda University Children’s Health in California, her journey with the hospital began long before she put on scrubs.
Workforce
Unity Medical Center
Grafton, N.D.
What was once going to be empty space is now used for everything from staff meetings to community medical events, but its main purpose is serving as the Rural Medical Education Center, supporting Unity's commitment to health care education at all levels.
Workforce
UW Health
Madison, Wis.
Medical personnel from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing are receiving clinical training from UW Health in Madison, Wis., giving the airmen a reliable and ongoing learning platform and ensuring their readiness to support local and global missions.
Workforce
UAMS Medical Center
Little Rock, Ark.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing has earned preaccreditation to establish the state's first nurse-midwifery program, expanding maternal and reproductive health education for students.