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
Ensuring Access to Care
AdventHealth
Altamonte, Fla.
In this conversation, Brent Davis, CEO of the primary health division at AdventHealth, shares how improved patient access, coordinated care teams, virtual care, and proactive follow-up are building a more efficient, consumer-focused healthcare system.
Ensuring Access to Care
Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
Virginia Beach, Va.
Virginia hospital teams up with Corvette club to drive home importance of prostate cancer screenings
Just as regular maintenance keeps a car running smoothly, routine health screenings can help detect problems before they become serious.
Ensuring Access to Care
Nantucket Cottage Hospital
Nantucket, Mass.
In this conversation, Amy Lee, president and chief operating officer at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, shares how telehealth is transforming patient care on the island,
Benefiting Communities
Presbyterian Healthcare Services
New Mexico
In New Mexico, Presbyterian Healthcare Services’ "Food as Medicine" approach closely aligns with the goals of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
Benefiting Communities
Kula Hospital
Hawaii
Hawaii state leaders, Maui Health and Kaiser Permanente announced plans to restore and reopen Kula Hospital after the March 2026 Kona Low storms caused significant damage and forced the temporary closure of the hospital, including its emergency department and the Hale Makamae care facility.
Kula Hospital restoration moves forward with state and Kaiser Permanente funding, bringing resilient emergency, inpatient and long-term care back to Upcountry Maui.
Benefiting Communities
Erie County Medical Center
New York
The palliative care department at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) was the first in Western New York to offer patients a new component of their overall care: help with legal issues from the MedLaw Partnership.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
Bingham Memorial Hospital
Idaho
Bingham Memorial Hospital is playing a leading role in a first-of-its-kind cancer care initiative in the Pacific Northwest through a partnership with Portneuf Medical Center and Virchow Medical.
The hospitals are using the Crow’s Nest Biopsy Catchment System to capture and preserve tumor cells typically discarded after routine biopsies.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital
St. Louis and Maryland Heights, Mo.
A multidisciplinary team at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis successfully separated 2-year-old twin sisters Hiyab and Wuhbto, who were born conjoined at the head, during a complex operation that lasted more than 24 hours in February 2026.
Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement
UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center
Fort Dodge, Iowa
UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge is using artificial intelligence technology during colonoscopy procedures to improve early detection of colorectal cancer.
Prevention and Wellness
UK HealthCare
Lexington, Kentucky
UK HealthCare’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital has introduced a new emergency department screening protocol to help clinicians identify and treat sepsis sooner.
Prevention and Wellness
Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare
Saint Paul, Minn.
In this conversation, Tori Bahr, M.D., section chief of pediatrics at Gillette Children’s, shares how healthcare teams can improve the transition from pediatric to adult care through early planning, coordinated care teams, and a more personalized approach to patient needs.
Prevention and Wellness
AdventHealth
Florida
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, talks with David Banks, president and CEO of AdventHealth. They discuss the organization's strategy to expand primary care across its communities, the importance of giving primary care its own leadership and resources, and why the future of community health depends on building stronger relationships with patients.
Workforce
BayCare Health System
Florida
In this conversation, Nikki Daily, chief team resources officer at BayCare Health System, discusses how the organization is addressing that challenge by building career pathways, developing apprenticeships, and partnering with community organizations to create opportunities for the healthcare workforce.
Workforce
Harrison Memorial Hospital (Ky.) Banner Health (Ariz.), Dartmouth Health (N.H.), Hutchinson Regional Medical Center (Kan.), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Ark.), Western Wisconsin Health (Wis.)
In part two of this special three-part Advancing Health podcast series, hear how leaders are creating new pathways into the workforce, investing in training, and bringing together the skills and expertise needed to support families in rural communities.
Workforce
The University of Kansas Health System
McPherson, Kan.
Rural Kansas has sweeping plains, golden wheat fields, and a sky that stretches as far as the eye can see. What it doesn’t have is what so many other rural areas also are lacking — a sustainable healthcare workforce.
Benefiting Communities
Mat-Su Regional General Hospital
Palmer, Alaska
Peanut butter has long been a sought-after item for food pantries, thanks to its long shelf life and nutritional value. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center sees it as a critical tool in the fight against hunger within the community, in which an estimated 20% of residents experience food insecurity.
Benefiting Communities
ChristianaCare
Wilmington, Del.
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Allentown, Pa.
Two Southeastern Pennsylvania health systems, ChristianaCare and Lehigh Valley Health Network, are launching a new era of health care with their opening of “micro-hospitals” that provide 24/7 emergency care with limited inpatient beds.
Benefiting Communities
Sage Memorial Hospital
Ganado, Ariz.
Three new and upgraded health facilities opening in Arizona will provide Native Americans with better access to health care, and more are in the works.
Benefiting Communities
O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas, in January 2024 opened an on-campus grocery store, housed in a portable building and brimming with fresh produce, meat and nonperishable items for students and their families.
Benefiting Communities
Wisconsin children and families in need of immediate mental health care can now walk in to a brand-new clinic in Kenosha, thanks to a $3 million donation from the charitable wing of the department store retail chain Kohl’s.
Benefiting Communities
Penrose Hospital
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs was among three area caregivers to participate in a February, 2023 staged exercise that simulated the effects of a bioterrorism attack, in this case botulinum toxin — one of the most poisonous known naturally-occurring substances — placed in the local milk supply.
Benefiting Communities
Penn State Health employees, College of Medicine faculty, staff and students show their support for organ donation on National Donate Life Blue & Green Day Friday by wearing blue and green.
Benefiting Communities
Mayo Clinic’s Gaming and Esports Medicine Clinic focuses on medical issues that impact professional and hobbyist video gamers, which largely come from repetition and overuse.
Benefiting Communities
Seniors living in the Sioux Falls, S.D., area will soon have access to a first-of-its-kind community for older adults, following a significant investment by Sanford Health.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
MultiCare Health System
Tacoma, Wash.
Twelve years after losing her husband David to lung cancer, Bev Brookshire faced her own health scare. When she began to experience shortness of breath and wheezing, a CT scan at Washington state-based MultiCare revealed a nodule on her lung.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
A study from Nemours Children’s Health surveyed 350 pediatric orthopedic trauma patients who, due to the nature of their injuries, were transferred to pediatric hospitals from other local facilities, and found that more than a third of those transfers could have been avoided — meaning the patients would have gotten faster care at a much lower cost — through the use of telemedicine.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
A team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is setting out on a two-year project that aims to make AI chatbots more effective — and more empathetic — when part of behavioral health care treatment.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
West Virginia University Health System
Morgantown, W.V.
Poppy McGee may not have made it to Thanksgiving. A stroke and brain surgery had already left McGee, 73, in a medically precarious state. Then doctors discovered a severe problem with her aortic valve and a blockage in her coronary artery, which were both contributing to heart failure.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
The Center for Hand Surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst restored the use of Harry Perks' right hand after 10 years of immobility due to spasticity from a drug overdose.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Mass General for Children
Boston, Mass.
Savannah, a 12-year-old from North Andover, Mass., loves gymnastics, soccer and swimming — activities she is enjoying two years after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and adjusting to living with a prosthetic leg.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
In December, OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois announced surgeons had successfully performed the world’s first implantation of an extravascular implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (EV-ICD) in a 2-year-old child who had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Bartlett Regional Hospital
Juneau, Ala.
In 2018, collaborating with community partners to better serve its patients in the greater Juneau, Alaska region, Bartlett Regional Hospital implemented an emergency department information exchange system that made possible real-time information sharing that is imperative for coordinated care efforts.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Seattle, Wash.
Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, Wash., embraced the otherworldly aspects of cancer treatment by partnering with the one and only NASA to launch a new, space-centric program for cancer patients.
Prevention and Wellness
Endeavor Health
Evanston, Ill.
This special series explores the medical complications that can accompany pregnancy, successful prenatal and postpartum treatment programs, and how hospitals and health systems are addressing the social needs of new mothers.
Prevention and Wellness
Wallowa Memorial Hospital
Enterprise, Ore.
When joined together, emergency prep and routine immunizations can be an effective way to mobilize community members to make healthy choices for their future selves.
Prevention and Wellness
Holy Name Medical Center
Teaneck, New Jersey
Although there are no clear-cut guidelines for how long cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be continued, the most favorable neurological outcomes are achieved when CPR is started immediately, with a duration of 21-25 minutes.
Prevention and Wellness
Vermont Medical Center
Burlington, Vt.
The Culinary Medicine program combines “the joy of cooking with the science of nutrition to help patients, employees and the community achieve optimal health.”
Prevention and Wellness
Kentucky Children's Hospital
Lexington, Ky.
Katie Belle Carmichael's exhibit, “Pups of Color,” which opened Oct. 15 on the hospital’s ground floor and was attended by some of the four-footed subjects, features portraits of the hospital’s therapy dogs who visited her room during her stays.
Prevention and Wellness
Cape Cod Healthcare
Hyannis, Ma.
Peer recovery specialists at Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital in Massachusetts help patients overcome substance use disorders.
Prevention and Wellness
The Queen’s Medical Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
The cancer survivorship program at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu addresses the many effects that can occur post-cancer by offering comprehensive care and resources.
Prevention and Wellness
Yale New Haven Health
New Haven, Conn.
Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut partners with Get Healthy CT for "Walk & Talk with a Doc," an opportunity on Saturday mornings for community members to walk with YNHH physicians and discuss specific health care topics.
Prevention and Wellness
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
Brattleboro, Vt.
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Vermont is offering a new, free Wellness PLUS Program for people at risk for heart and lung disease due to diabetes, high blood pressure, tobacco use, obesity and sedentary lifestyle.