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
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital
Marietta, Ga.
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital is committed to building strong scholars before the school years begin through the Talk With My Baby program. Learn more about this initiative here.
Benefiting Communities
AtlantiCare
Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
AtlantiCare hosts a High School Hiring Blitz and offers jobs to more than 30 high school seniors. It’s a new approach to fill the talent gap in health care by creating programs that build a long-term pipeline of prospective employees.
Benefiting Communities
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center
Bangor, Maine
In June 2022, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center partnered with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast to open a donor milk depot in Bangor, Maine, bringing the number of milk banks in the state to seven. These milk banks rely on donated breast milk, which is tested, pasteurized and then given to infants in need of a nutritional boost.
Benefiting Communities
NorthShore University Health System
Evanston, Ill.
NorthShore University Health System is making its most significant investment in health equity yet. The health system is taking action to address health disparities across the communities it serves by enlisting and mobilizing capable leaders, a diversified workforce and the right community partners.
Benefiting Communities
UK HealthCare
Lexington, Ky.
UK HealthCare has created a unique partnership with Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) and school districts in the state to support students interested in a health care career and increase interest in the health care field.
Benefiting Communities
ChristianaCare has teamed up with Kuumba Academy Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, to establish a new student-based health center that will provide onsite preventive care, mental health care and acute care services for all 637 Kuumba Academy students.
Benefiting Communities
MUSC in Charleston, South Carolina, has developed a school-based telehealth program that contributes to improved health outcomes for children in many rural and underserved communities across the state.
Benefiting Communities
The Mercy Health Research & Innovation group operates as a research and innovation hub for the health system.
Benefiting Communities
Through Ascension’s Medical Mission at Home events, the health system delivers free medical care to those with limited access and who are struggling in the communities they serve.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Landmark Medical Center
Woonsocket, R.I.
At Landmark Medical Center, based in Woonsocket, R.I., new moms and their babies receive care in a comfortable setting designed to feel like home. Landmark’s Maternity Care and Newburn Nursery Precious Beginnings specializes in offering a single room maternity experience, where all aspects of the birth process occur in one room with a consistent team of care providers.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, Md.
The Critical Care and Trauma Simulation Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the most technologically advanced training centers in the region. There, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals train on mannequins that breathe, whose eyes respond to light, and who even bleed when an IV is placed.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
For some kids, few things are as nerve-racking as an upcoming hospital visit. The blank white walls, labyrinthian hallways and conversations with unfamiliar grownups can feel intimidating and uncomfortable. But Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in Loma Linda, Calif., soothes these young patients with a little bit of imagination known as Loma Land.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is the first in the state to participate in a trial using a new sensor that can help patients monitor their fluid levels. The sensor is implanted during a minimally invasive procedure, and patients can be discharged the same day.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Esther Whitley had been feeling tired and out of breath for months before she visited her doctor. The cause was a mitral valve leak, meaning blood was flowing in the wrong direction. There was also another, more serious complication: A tumor was present on her heart, which would usually require open-heart surgery to remove. That procedure would carry risk for any patient, but at age 86, it was an impossibility for Whitley. There simply wasn’t a way to treat her safely – until there was.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
TeamBirth at Providence St. Peter in Olympia and Providence Centralia in Centralia is an industry-standard birthing-communication process.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
St. John’s Hospital Camarillo of Camarillo, Calif. recently became the first hospital in southern California and the second in the state to use a groundbreaking treatment for AFib. Medical staff from St. John’s and the affiliated St. John’s Regional Medical Center used the POLARx cryoablation system, which restores normal heart rhythm by disabling heart cells that create an irregular heartbeat.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Abrazo Arrowhead Campus
Glendale, Ariz.
A terrific new care site option is now available for Phoenix-area babies born with nearly any kind of medical condition.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Michigan Medicine and Henry Ford Health are partnering to launch the largest-ever clinical trial to determine if administering the marijuana-derived compound known as cannabidiol (CBD) before and after surgery may reduce the need for opioids following a total knee arthroplasty.