Telling the Hospital Story 2026 Flip Book
Download and share examples reflecting hospitals' deep commitment to meeting community needs today while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.
Member Resource: Building and Maintaining Public Trust and Confidence
Share these new resources with your communications and leadership teams.
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.
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 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Neb.
In this conversation, Angela Hewlett, M.D., professor of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, explains how her team helped monitor and care for Americans exposed to the Andes hantavirus strain, the only known hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission.
Building Healthy Communities
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
Boise, Idaho
Saint Alphonsus, in partnership with Canyon County Paramedics and the American Red Cross, has launched Idaho’s first ground‑based EMS whole‑blood transfusion program.
Building Healthy Communities
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Chicago's Pauline Maki, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, psychology, and obstetrics and gynecology, and Makeba Williams, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, unpack why menopause care is finally having a breakthrough moment.
Ensuring Access to Care
Providence St. Peter Hospital
Washington
In this conversation, Heidi Bray, DNP, nurse practitioner and hospitalist at Providence St. Peter Hospital, explores how hospitals can improve opioid use disorder treatment.
Ensuring Access to Care
Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Saint Luke’s is a leader in transplantation and is committed to expanding access to living kidney donation.
Ensuring Access to Care
Cottage Hospital, New Hampshire
Sharon Hospital, Connecticut
In this conversation, leaders from Cottage Hospital and Sharon Hospital (part of Northwell Health) share how specialized geriatric behavioral health programs are helping older adults receive compassionate, comprehensive mental health care close to home.
Benefiting Communities
Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first chartered hospital, celebrated its 275th anniversary by opening the Pennsylvania Hospital Museum in May 2026.
Benefiting Communities
Artesia General Hospital
New Mexico
Dr. Peter Jewell, a family medicine physician at the 25-bed Artesia General Hospital in rural New Mexico, has adopted Microsoft Dragon Copilot, an AI-powered clinical assistant that records patient conversations, transcribes them, and updates electronic health records automatically.
Benefiting Communities
Corewell Health
Michigan
Corewell Health and the Champions of the Heart Foundation are joining forces to expand emergency preparedness and lifesaving training across Michigan, aiming to equip more residents with the skills needed to respond to cardiac emergencies.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas
Houston Methodist is transforming their inpatient care through remote monitoring technology that gives clinicians a continuous view of a patient’s condition instead of traditional vital-sign checks every four hours.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Nebraska Medicine - Nebraska Medical Center
Nebraska
In May, U.S. passengers from the international cruise ship where a hantavirus outbreak began were transported to Omaha, Neb., to be monitored in the National Quarantine Unit on the campus of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Community Memorial Hospital
Hamilton, N.Y.
Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, New York, is transforming spine surgery by introducing robotic technology, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Nicholas Qandah.
Prevention and Wellness
Hartford Hospital
Hartford, Conn.
For Joe Ferone, the journey from experiencing substance use disorder and homelessness to attaining recovery and stability has been long and difficult yet ultimately filled with hope.
Prevention and Wellness
Dartmouth Health Children’s
Lebanon, N.H.
Dartmouth Health Children’s has launched a new season of its “Heads Up” mental health awareness series focused on children, titled “Heads Up: Foundations for Youth Mental Health.”
Prevention and Wellness
University of Pennsylvania Health System
Philadelphia
In this conversation, Elinore Kaufman, M.D., medical director of the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program, and Michele Volpe, chief operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, share how hospital-based violence intervention programs are helping patients heal physically, emotionally and socially after traumatic injury.
Workforce
University of Michigan Health-West
Michigan
At University of Michigan Health-West, a unique family story is unfolding through the work of four dedicated nurses from the Bos family.
Workforce
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns
San Diego, Calif.
At Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in San Diego, Nick Saade, M.D., saw the patient experience from a different perspective — as a husband and expectant father.
Workforce
Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
Melrose Park, Ill.
In recognition of #HAVHope Day on June 5th, Sarah Hunter, president of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, explores the innovative approaches her team is using to reduce workplace violence. From a simple but effective buddy system to stronger partnerships with public safety agencies and community leaders, hear real-world solutions that help healthcare workers focus on what they do best — caring for patients.
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
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.
Building Healthy Communities
Avera Behavioral Health Urgent Care, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center Emergency Department
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Avera is partnering with Emily’s Hope to make free naloxone, also known as Narcan, available at numerous Avera sites across South Dakota.
Building Healthy Communities
Edgerton Hospital and Health Services, Edgerton; Grant Regional Health Center, Lancaster; Reedsburg Area Medical Center, Reedsburg; Richland Hospital, Richland Center; Southwest Health, Platteville; St. Croix Regional Medical Center, St. Croix Falls
Ten independent rural hospitals are establishing the Wisconsin High Value Network to expand access to care, share best practices in serving rural populations and control purchasing costs.
Building Healthy Communities
Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital
Billigns, Mont.
Zack Fievet’s life was forever altered in 2024 when a semi-trailer he was inspecting suddenly released its brakes and ran over him, causing devastating injuries.
Ensuring Access to Care
Children's Mercy Kansas City
Kansas City, Mo.
In this conversation, Alejandro Quiroga, M.D., president and CEO of Children's Mercy Kansas City, and Mary Esselman, president and CEO of Operation Breakthrough, explore how one innovative partnership in Kansas City is bringing true whole-person care directly to the children and families who need it most.
Ensuring Access to Care
University of Utah Health
Utah
University of Utah Health is expanding its TeleNICU program to improve access to specialty newborn care in rural communities across the Mountain West.
Ensuring Access to Care
In this conversation, David Stark, chief of government and external affairs and philanthropy officer at UnityPoint Health, shares how a major philanthropic investment is helping expand mental health services for children and adolescents.
Ensuring Access to Care
Texas Health Resources
McKinney, Texas
Texas Health Resources has announced plans for a new hospital and medical campus in north McKinney, marking a major investment in one of North Texas’s fastest‑growing regions.
Ensuring Access to Care
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital
New York
In this conversation, Scott Edelman, executive director of Burke Rehabilitation, shares how post-acute care hospitals are helping relieve pressure on acute care facilities
Ensuring Access to Care
Baylor Scott & White Health
Texas
Improving community health requires more than clinical care alone.
Ensuring Access to Care
Children’s Nebraska
Omaha, Neb.
The American College of Surgeons awarded the designation following a rigorous evaluation of the hospital’s trauma program, recognizing its ability to provide the highest level of comprehensive, 24/7 care for critically injured children.
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.
Benefiting Communities
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Clinic is bringing its Hospital Care At Home program to Northeast Ohio, offering eligible patients the option to receive hospital-level acute care without leaving their homes.
Benefiting Communities
ChristianaCare
Wilmington, Del.
Someone struggling with substance use disorder may not know how or where to ask for help. Since 2008, Project Engage from ChristianaCare in Wilmington, Del., has brought help to them.
Benefiting Communities
In this conversation, Mary Kate Daly, senior vice president and chief of community health of the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, explains how long-term investments, powerful community partnerships, and a first-of-its-kind community health hub are leading to better outcomes for kids in Chicago and beyond.
Benefiting Communities
AtlantiCare
Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
AtlantiCare EMS has expanded its trauma care capabilities by launching a Ground Whole Blood Program, allowing paramedics to administer whole blood transfusions directly at emergency scenes.
Benefiting Communities
Baylor Scott & White Health
Texas
Improving community health requires more than clinical care alone.
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.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, Conn.
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, speaks with John Santopietro, M.D., senior vice president at Hartford HealthCare and physician-in-chief of its Behavioral Health Network.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Washington
When it comes to liver cancer, you may already know classic risk factors like cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B and C viruses. But a Seattle-based epidemiologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is investigating a lesser-known potential contributor that may not be on your radar: solar jet lag.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
Portland, Ore.
Enhanced infection prevention measures in neonatal intensive care units have been shown to significantly reduce the spread of hospital‑acquired viral infections among highly vulnerable infants, according to a study led by Oregon Health & Science University.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
University of Iowa Health Care
Iowa
University of Iowa Health Care is expanding its support for growing families with a series of major upgrades to maternal and newborn services, including a newly enhanced postpartum unit and a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, N.C.
In this conversation, Duke University School of Medicine's Jonathan Posner, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and Matthew Engelhard, M.D., P.h.D., assistant professor of the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, break down the "Duke PMA" — an AI-powered predictive model designed to identify adolescents at high risk for psychiatric illness.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
Glendale, Ariz.
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Arizona, has become the first hospital in the western United States to adopt the Aesculap Aeos Robotic Digital Microscope, marking a significant step forward in surgical innovation.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
University of Missouri Health Care
Columbia, Mo.
What began as a routine sports injury for a Missouri college soccer player quickly escalated into a life-threatening medical crisis, ultimately leading to a complex, leg-saving effort at MU Health Care.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
WellSpan York Hospital
York, Pa.
Attack of the munchies at 3 a.m.? Not a problem at WellSpan Health York Hospital, which has introduced Fresh Take Eatery, an AI‑powered robotic kitchen that provides 24/7 access to hot, healthy meals for patients, visitors, and staff, ensuring fresh, on-demand food options at any hour.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas
Houston Methodist Hospital researchers are reshaping how clinicians think about traumatic brain injury (TBI) by looking beyond the brain itself.
Prevention and Wellness
John Muir Health
Walnut Creek, Calif.
In this conversation, John Muir Health's Jeremy Fish, M.D., director of the Family Medicine Residency Program, and Pilar Corcoran-Lozano, PsyD, behavioral health corps faculty and supervising psychologist of the Co-Training Program, discuss how training physicians and behavioral health professionals as a team is improving patient care,
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
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.
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.
Workforce
Children’s Nebraska
Omaha, Neb.
Austin and Jaci Derby have a similar journey — one that led not only to careers in health care, but also a personal partnership.
Workforce
Reid Health
Richmond, Ind.
“This was never about technology,” said Muhammad Siddiqui.
That sounds like a strange way to describe the project that made Reid Health one of the finalists for the 2026 AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award.
Workforce
In this conversation, Denzil Ross, president of Indiana University Health South Region, and Erik Coyne, chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College–Bloomington, discuss how the organizations' partnership is using philanthropic investment to broaden nursing education for aspiring nurses.
Workforce
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
California
Contra Costa County leaders partnered with Kaiser Permanente and Contra Costa Heath to launch the “Right Care, Right Way” pilot campaign.
Workforce
MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital
Rockport, Maine
Front-line team members are turning practical ideas into meaningful improvements for patient care and daily operations, thanks in part to the Innovation Space opened in 2024 at MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital.
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.