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

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Neb.

The Next Outbreak: Hantavirus, Ebola, and Hospital Readiness

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

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.

Ensuring Access to Care

Cottage Hospital, New Hampshire
Sharon Hospital, Connecticut

A Rural Solution to the Geriatric Mental Health Crisis

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.

Ensuring Access to Care

Springfield Hospital
Springfield, Vt.

Expanding access to advanced diagnostic tools in rural Vermont

A new service at a critical access hospital in rural Vermont is strengthening neurological care in the community.

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.

Benefiting Communities

Hands practicing chest compressions on a dummy

Corewell Health
Michigan

Corewell Health and Champions of the Heart Foundation bring cardiac emergency response training to residents

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.

Benefiting Communities

two men have a discussion in a conference room

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center
Wyoming

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Expands Addiction Services

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) has partnered with GamFin, a national nonprofit focused on financial recovery from problem gambling, to offer free, confidential financial counseling to Laramie County residents harmed by problem gambling.

Benefiting Communities

Southwest Health
Platteville, Wis.

How a Father-Daughter Team Is Strengthening Rural Maternity Care

Southwest Health's Kevin Carr, M.D., family medicine physician, and Melissa Carr, M.D., OB/GYN, reflect on the joy of practicing medicine together, delivering babies side by side, and caring for generations of families in rural Wisconsin as a father-daughter duo.

Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement

A surgeon wearing head lamp stands in operating theater

Community Memorial Hospital
Hamilton, N.Y.

Patients travel across New York state for robotic spine surgery in Hamilton

Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, New York, is transforming spine surgery by introducing robotic technology, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Nicholas Qandah.

Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement

Mercy Hospital St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo.

Missouri hospital treats liver cancer with bubbles, sound waves that ‘liquefy’ tumors

Mercy Hospital St. Louis is now using a cancer treatment that sounds more like science fiction than modern medicine: “Bubble clouds” and sound waves are being deployed to destroy liver tumors — painlessly.

Innovation, Research, and Quality Improvement

image of a health worker examining a patient's knee

Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare
Clinton, Mo.

First-of-its-kind surgery utilizes miniature robotic system

A surgeon at Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare in Clinton, Mo., has completed the world’s first knee replacement surgery using a new miniature robotic system.

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

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns
San Diego, Calif.

High-risk pregnancy gives doctor new perspective at Sharp Mary Birch

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

Real Solutions to Workplace Violence

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.

Workforce

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.

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.

Building Healthy Communities

Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio

Food as Medicine: How Cleveland Clinic Is Nourishing Community Health

In this conversation, Vickie Johnson, executive vice president and chief community officer at Cleveland Clinic, discusses how the medical center is confronting food insecurity by treating food as a vital part of health care.

Building Healthy Communities

An older man wearing an apron stands in a kitchen preparing health food

Cary Medical Center
Caribou, Maine

Cary Medical Center’s stroke prevention program promotes healthy lifestyle habits

Cary Medical Center, a 63-bed hospital in rural Caribou, Maine, created the Siruno Stroke Prevention Program to help community members develop and maintain healthy lifestyle habits.

Building Healthy Communities

Corewell Health
Grand Rapids, Mich.

An Ecosystem Approach to Health Across Michigan Communities

To celebrate Community Health Improvement (CHI) Week, June 9 – June 13, two experts from Corewell Health share how an impactful health care ecosystem model is supporting local Michigan communities

Building Healthy Communities

illustration of sound waves entering an ear canal

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Los Angeles, Calif.

Hearing breakthrough comes through studying mouse inner ear

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, made a major discovery in understanding how the brain may help regulate hearing.

Building Healthy Communities

A man pricks his finger for a glucose test

Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, Conn.

Hartford HealthCare hospitals provide person-centered diabetes care

Hartford HealthCare’s Diabetes and Endocrinology program offers classes, individual counseling sessions, monthly support groups, resources and special events designed to help people with diabetes take care of themselves and prevent long-term complications.

Building Healthy Communities

Photo of a palm trees and buildings with a backdrop of hazy skies and the glow of fires

Keck School of Medicine of USC
Los Angeles, Calif.

Keck Medicine of USC students support communities hit by LA wildfires

When the Eaton and Palisades wildfires devastated areas of Los Angeles County earlier this year, they sparked a swift response from students at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Building Healthy Communities

Juno sits on a patient's bed getting pets and scritches

Norton Healthcare celebrates the life and legacy of facility dog Juno

Juno, a 66-pound blonde with four paws, a sassy smile and a fondness for carrying stuffed animals in her mouth, spent six years providing comfort and companionship to patients and staff members at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Ky.

Building Healthy Communities

A health worker ins scrubs stands at a healthy food buffet preparing a plate

MaineHealth
Portland, Maine

Healthy food focus at MaineHealth hospitals promotes good nutrition

At MaineHealth, increasing access to healthy food in the community starts at its hospital campuses.

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)

Ensuring Access to Care

Two female health workers in white coats stand in a supply room checking a computer screen

Denver Health
Denver, Colo.

Denver Health Focuses on Primary Care Training in Underserved Areas

Recruiting and retaining skilled health care professionals to meet projected demands is a challenge everywhere, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Ensuring Access to Care

A young male physician talks to a young girl seated on her mother's lap

New center to study health disparities impacting rural, underserved communities in Pa.

Penn State College of Medicine has launched the Center for Advancing Health Equity in Rural and Underserved Communities. The center's initial focus is on reducing cancer health disparities and improving health literacy and education in cardiovascular health, cancer, and diabetes for minority, underserved, and rural populations.

Ensuring Access to Care

A woman stands at a machine in process of a mammogram

Breast Health Equity Program Aims to Erase Outcome Disparities

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s grant-backed Breast Health Equity Program set out in 2020 to improve rates of up-to-date mammography screening for Black women, while also increasing screening overall for women who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Ensuring Access to Care

A labor of love: UC Davis residents bring OB-GYN and cardiothoracic care to rural California

The UC Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, Calif., has teamed up with Doctors Medical Center in Modesto to allow residents to practice medicine in the Central Valley as they train to become board-certified specialists.

Ensuring Access to Care

A female doctor leans forehead against forehead of young girl wearing a scarf on her head

Survive & Thrive at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital: Lifelong Support for Young Cancer Patients

Survive & Thrive is a program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital that aims to provide a range of support and care to childhood cancer survivors.

Ensuring Access to Care

Indy Health District leaders, health professionals and community members

Working All Angles: Indy Health District Supports Health from Every Side

Access to high-quality health care is crucial to a community’s well-being, but it’s not the only component of health.

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.

Benefiting Communities

Female health workers stand reviewing a tablet screen

Saint Peter's University Hospital
New Brunswick, N.J.

Saint Peter's University Hospital uses Lightbeam AI to identify at-risk patients, reduce ED visits

Lightbeam Health Solutions and Saint Peter's University Hospital, a 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., have achieved a 7.1% reduction in emergency department visits among high-risk patients. The decrease was driven by Lightbeam’s AI-enabled program that predicts which patients are at risk of avoidable ED visits within 90 days.

Benefiting Communities

Lakeview Hospital
Bountiful, Utah

Roses from anonymous volunteers lift patients’, loved ones’ spirits

Feeling exhausted and emotionally drained from a visit to the emergency room with a loved one at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful, Utah, Nancy Lawrence was surprised as she walked to the parking lot to see several people placing roses and handwritten notes on the cars.

Benefiting Communities

Woman’s Hospital
Baton Rouge, La.

Woman’s Hospital’s new mobile bus brings health screenings to communities

Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., unveiled its mobile mammography bus, a state-of-the-art unit equipped with 3D imaging technology, with the goal of expanding access to life-saving breast cancer screenings across Louisiana and parts of Mississippi.

Benefiting Communities

EMTs adminster oxygen to a woman sitting on a stretcher

CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital
Durango, Colo.

CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital Partners with EMS to Revolutionize Cardiac Care in the Four Corners Region

Durango, Colorado-based CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital has partnered with emergency medical services (EMS) agencies across the Four Corners region in the use of Pulsara, a cutting-edge EMS-to-hospital communication technology that provides real-time cardiac status updates from the field.

Benefiting Communities

A young patient sits in a hospital bed flexing his superhero muscles, wearing a red superhero cape and blue mask

UnityPoint Health - Blank Children's Hospital
Des Moines, Iowa

Parade for pediatric cancer patients features Cancer Warrior Truck

The Cruise to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, is an annual convoy of classic and modified cars, parading past the hospital for patients’ enjoyment.