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.

New Resources: Building and Maintaining Public Trust and Confidence

Member Resource: Building and Maintaining Public Trust and Confidence

Share these new resources with your communications and leadership teams.

A female physician laughs with a family at a community event

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.

Telling the Hospital Story: All Hospital Stories

Explore the amazing stories of hospitals going above and beyond to care for their patients and communities throughout America. Search by location using state, category, or hospital name in the interactive map below, or sort stories by category using the filter.

Telling the Hospital Story Home

Telling the Hospital Story Media

All Stories

Building Healthy Communities

The Canyon County EMS whole-blood transfusion team stands in front of a Canyon County Paramedics ambulance

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
Boise, Idaho

Bringing life-saving prehospital blood transfusions directly to patients in 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

Menopause Matters: Closing Gaps in Care and Awareness

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.

Building Healthy Communities

Billboard advertising the NFL draft in Pittsburgh

Allegheny Health Network and UPMC
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pittsburgh’s hospital systems ‘prepare for the unexpected’ as the NFL Draft approaches

Pittsburgh officials expect up to 500,000 visitors to flood the city for the 2026 NFL Draft April 23-25, bringing routine medical needs as well as risks tied to large crowds, alcohol use and possible emergencies.

Ensuring Access to Care

Hackensack Meridian Health
Hackensack, N.J.

Hackensack Meridian Health Opens Nation’s First Health & Wellness Center In A Major Travel Hub

The Metropark Health & Wellness Center is the first comprehensive health and wellness facility in the nation to be located within a major transit hub, offering convenient access to care for commuters and nearby residents.

Ensuring Access to Care

Scotland Health team, finalists in the 2026 AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award

Scotland Health
Laurinburg, N.C.

Scotland Health’s home-based care program earns AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award recognition

Scotland Health at Home began with one goal: Connect patients to treatment, no matter where they were. The program’s work led to Scotland Health Care System being recognized as a finalist for the 2026 AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award.

Ensuring Access to Care

Renown Health
Reno, Nev.

Renown Health partners to launch first OB/GYN residency in Northern Nevada

Renown Health is expanding access to women’s reproductive health care by partnering with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) to launch the northern Nevada region’s first obstetrics and gynecology residency program.

Benefiting Communities

Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, Ohio

Nationwide Children’s Hospital incorporates reading literacy into routine visits

As childhood literacy rates decline across the United States, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is stepping up with an innovative approach — conducting reading screenings in pediatric clinics.

Benefiting Communities

Bottles of expressed breast milk sit in a refrigerator

PeaceHealth St. Joseph
Bellingham, Wash.

PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s donor milk program supports hundreds of newborns

PeaceHealth St. Joseph in Bellingham, Wash., is supporting its most vulnerable patients by expanding access to donor breast milk for premature and at-risk newborns, ensuring they receive critical nutrition in their first days of life.

Benefiting Communities

The Grundy County Hospital maintenance team poses with bags of trash

Grundy County Memorial Hospital
Grundy Center, Iowa

How Grundy County Memorial Hospital found a patient’s treasure in their trash

An Iowa hospital is being recognized for going above and beyond after staff members used an unconventional method to help a patient recover priceless family heirlooms that were accidentally thrown away.

Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement

A woman in lab coat peers into microscope

University of Iowa Health Care
Iowa City, Iowa

Patient becomes advocate for rare cancer research

An Iowa cancer patient is helping shape the future of treatment by turning a life-altering diagnosis into a mission to advance research and support other patients.

Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement

Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, Conn.

Innovative Models to Strengthen Behavioral Healthcare

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

Fred Hutch investigates an illuminating liver cancer risk

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.

Prevention and Wellness

Heads Up: Foundations for Youth Mental Health poster

Dartmouth Health Children’s
Lebanon, N.H.

Health system's ‘Heads Up’ series supports young people’s mental well-being

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

More Than Survival: Healing Trauma from Violence

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.

Prevention and Wellness

CommonSpirit Health
Chicago, Ill.

Words Matter: Reducing Stigma in Substance Use Disorder Care

For millions facing substance use disorders, stigma isn’t just harmful — it’s a barrier to survival. In this conversation, three leaders from CommonSpirit Health explore how the organization is confronting stigma head-on through education, storytelling and culture change. They also reveal how shifting language, training and grassroots efforts are helping patients feel seen and heard on their road to recovery.

Workforce

Real Solutions to Workplace Violence

In recognition of #HAVHope Day on June 5th, Sarah Hunter, president of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital,

Workforce

Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, Conn.

Innovative Models to Strengthen Behavioral Healthcare

Workforce

A pregnant woman stands with a doula in front of doors to a UAMS facility

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Ark.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences enrolls 25 doula trainees in latest class

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation has enrolled 25 doula trainees from 14 counties across the state in its latest class, continuing an effort to strengthen maternal health outcomes, particularly in underserved and rural communities.

Building Healthy Communities

A boy wearing glasses sits at a school desk in a classroom

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Seattle

Fred Hutch eases school return for kids facing cancer’s aftermath

For kids with cancer, challenges often don’t end when cancer ends. Returning to school can be uniquely difficult.

Building Healthy Communities

A smiling Black child sits in a hospital gown holding a teddy bear

Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC

Breakthrough algorithm from MUSC reduces hospitalization for the youngest sickle cell patients

The Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology divisions at the Medical University of South Carolina teamed up to create and test an algorithm for treating children with sickle cell disease who arrived at the ED with a fever. The algorithm helps providers better determine which kids should be admitted and who should go home for treatment with close follow-up from the hospital.

Building Healthy Communities

A male healthworker wearing PPE and holding a clipboard stands outdoors talking with a woman, a man and a child

INTEGRIS Health
OKlahoma City, Okla.

Mobile health clinic helps bridge access to care in Oklahoma communities

INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma has been working to meet people where they are with their Mobile Health Clinic, launched in March 2019.

Building Healthy Communities

Brighter Days Pediatric Mental Health Urgent Care Center exterior

Brighter Days Pediatric Mental Health Urgent Care Center, part of Golisano Children’s Hospital
Rochester, N.Y.

Exploring the benefits of pediatric mental health urgent care centers

The Brighter Days Pediatric Mental Health Urgent Care Center, part of Golisano Children’s Hospital in Western New York, opened in June 2024 to provide walk-in mental health services for individuals under 18.

Building Healthy Communities

stock image of a female physician in scrubs holding an anatomically accurate model of the human heart

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center
Las Vegas

Nevada patients get a jolt of hope with new heartbeat tech

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas recently introduced technology to treat heart rhythm disorders, building on the hospital’s earlier success using pulse field ablation — the delivery of electrical pulses to kill cells causing the irregular heart rhythm.

Building Healthy Communities

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville
Stephenville, Texas

Texas hospital helps rural community breathe easier

At Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville, a new pulmonary rehabilitation program is transforming the way chronic respiratory diseases are treated in rural Erath County.

Building Healthy Communities

A diverse group of older people walk together on an outdoor fitness track

Age against the machine: UW Medicine tool predicts your body’s true age

If you could predict your biological risk of death, would you want to know? Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle have developed a resource that does just that and more.

Building Healthy Communities

stock image of arms around the shoulders of a participant in a group counseling session

Mass General partners with Matthew Perry Foundation as part of addiction medicine fellowship

Massachusetts General Hospital, based in Boston, has partnered with the Matthew Perry Foundation to establish the Matthew Perry Foundation Fellowship in Addiction Medicine.

Building Healthy Communities

A pregnant woman sits at a kitchen table measuring her blood pressure and

Evanston Regional Hospital
Evanston, Wyo.

Intermountain Health
Utah

A new program is working to fill gaps in Wyoming’s maternal health care

The closure of labor and delivery services at Evanston Regional Hospital last December left a significant gap in prenatal care in southwestern Wyoming. Utah-based Intermountain Health has stepped in to fill the gap, ensuring that patients wouldn't be left without care.

Ensuring Access to Care

Woman's Hospital
Baton Rouge, La.

On the Road to Early Detection: Woman's Hospital's Mobile Mammography

In this conversation, Lindsey Fauveau, M.D., medical director of breast surgical oncology at Woman’s Hospital, shares how the hospital’s state-of-the-art mobile unit brings 3D mammograms directly to communities across Louisiana.

Ensuring Access to Care

A patient being attended by three health workers sits in an emergency room

Landmark Medical Center
Woonsocket, R.I.

Addressing ED overcrowding with technology tools

Many hospitals and health systems are rethinking triage processes and using new technology tools to ensure access, shorten patients’ length of stay in the ED, and improve care quality and efficiency.

Ensuring Access to Care

El Camino Health
Mountain View, Calif.

Mobilizing the 4Ms: How El Camino Health is Transforming Age-Friendly Care

Carolyn Bogard, DNP, R.N., director of care coordination and palliative care at El Camino Health, talks about her system’s use of data to harness the passion care-providers feel for improving outcomes and streamlining care delivery for older adults.

Ensuring Access to Care

A patient is escorted to a mammogram machine

UConn Health
Farmington, Conn.

UConn Health community outreach program improves access to mammograms

Saving lives is the impetus behind a community outreach and engagement breast cancer screening program led by UConn Health, based in Farmington, Conn.

Ensuring Access to Care

Southeast Colorado Hospital District
Springfield, Colo.

Taking to the skies: How a doctor cares for patients in rural Colorado

Many daily commutes are on the ground — car, train, bikes — but what if you took to the air? Dr. Charles Frankum has spent over two decades flying himself to some of the most remote hospitals in Colorado and Kansas, including the Southeast Colorado Hospital District in Springfield, Colo.

Ensuring Access to Care

A homeless man sits on steps outside a building, listening to a person doing community outreach

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center
Portland, Maine

MaineHealth learning collaborative closes gaps in care for people experiencing homelessness

The MaineHealth–Preble Street Learning Collaborative (PSLC) was founded by MaineHealth Maine Medical Center, Preble Street — a nonprofit social service agency — and other community partners to provide outreach, engagement and safe, person-centered care to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Ensuring Access to Care

A female physician gestures with hands while speaking to a young male patient.

Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, Conn.

Hartford HealthCare enhances translation services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients

Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut is partnering with the American School for the Deaf to offer in-person American Sign Language services and other translation services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and their companions.

Ensuring Access to Care

A lit candle in front of a Star of David

HCA Florida University Hospital
Davie, Fla.

Kosher Room provides comfort and support for Jewish patients and families

HCA Florida's Kosher Room, opened in December 2024, is designed to support Jewish patients and their families and includes kitchen facilities and food that meet kosher dietary requirements, as well as a variety of spiritual resources.

Ensuring Access to Care

Stock image of elderly man smiling up at female health worker

Butler Hospital
Providence, R.I.

Butler Hospital leads research, education and community outreach on Alzheimer’s

Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., is leading research studies on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia through its multifaceted Memory and Aging Program (MAP)

Benefiting Communities

Wyoming Medical Center
Casper, Wyo.

Banner Wyoming Medical Center launches latest ambulance coloring contest

Kids love to decorate with their art, and the elementary schoolchildren of Natrona County in central Wyoming have an exciting display case for their ideas: area ambulances.

Benefiting Communities

Two emergency department health workers in scrubs treat a female patient on a hospital bed in a triage bay

Saint Francis Hospital
Tulsa, Okla.

Saint Francis Hospital in Oklahoma earns Level I Trauma Center designation

Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla., earned a Level I Trauma Center verification from the American College of Surgeons — the highest designation for trauma care in the U.S.

Benefiting Communities

Stock image of canned goods, dry goods and fruit in a cardboard box

Oklahoma Hospital Association
Oklahoma

Oklahoma hospitals deliver more than 1 million pounds of food to patients

Since 2020, the Oklahoma Hospital Association has worked with health care systems across the state in partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to provide patients and families with fresh produce, pantry staples and ready-to-eat meals.

Benefiting Communities

University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital patient James Hall

University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital
Iowa City, Iowa

Stead Family Children’s Hospital treats rare-disease patient — and makes time for football

At University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, 5-year-old James Hall is being treated for Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare cancer-like disorder that affects only one to two newborns out of every million.

Benefiting Communities

A medical team rushes a patient on a stretcher down a hospital hallway

Ascension St. John Medical Center
Tulsa, Okla.

Oklahoma hospital becomes Tulsa’s first Level 1 Trauma Center

Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., has been verified as a Level I Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Benefiting Communities

An older man sits in a hospital chair receiving an infusion

UCHealth
Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Outreach Oncologist for Rural Colorado

Dr. Robert Hoyer, an oncologist with UCHealth in Colorado Springs, dedicates one week each month to providing cancer care in rural southeast Colorado, where access to specialized medical services is limited.

Benefiting Communities

A PENN health worker checks an elderly patient's blood pressure at an event

Penn State Health
Reading, Pa.

Turning corner stores into health hubs

Angela Shuman, a community health nurse with Penn State Health, plays a vital role in supporting residents of Reading, Pa., through monthly health check-ins at New Heightz Grocery Store. Her warm, personal approach — like hugging regulars and offering gentle reminders about medication — has built deep trust within the community.

Benefiting Communities

Alaska Native Medical Center
Anchorage

Alaska hospital kitchen staff get lesson in traditional cooking: seal processing

In a hands-on workshop at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Tlingit seal hunter Tim Ackerman demonstrates the traditional method of butchering a harbor seal to a group of chefs, nutritionists and cultural practitioners.

Benefiting Communities

Telling the Hospital Story: Bethany Children's housing program participants

Bethany Children's Health Center
Bethany, Okla.

Children’s hospital launches housing program to help disabled youth gain independence

In Bethany, Okla., a new initiative is reshaping the future for disabled youth transitioning into adulthood.