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.
Ensuring Access to Care
In this conversation, Jennifer Cohen, M.D., medical director of the Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, King of Prussia, and Katie Costantini, director of maternal care services at Chester County Hospital, discuss the barriers that can affect maternal care in Hispanic populations, and how deploying bilingual volunteers provided the opportunity to learn what worked and what could be improved.
Ensuring Access to Care
In this conversation, Veronica Gillispie-Bell, M.D., OB-GYN at Ochsner Health, discusses successful strategies to reduce maternal morbidity after childbirth, and how these solutions should always start with equity at the forefront.
Ensuring Access to Care
A trip to the hospital emergency department can be overwhelming for anyone, but for individuals with autism, the stress can be significantly heightened.
Ensuring Access to Care
Navajo Health Foundation - Sage Memorial Hospital
Ganado, Ariz.
As the only Navajo psychiatrist on the 27,000 square mile Navajo Reservation, Dr. Richard Laughter breaks down accessibility barriers for his people by blending Native cultural practices with Western behavioral health care.
Ensuring Access to Care
In March 2024, the Home Hospital team at Yale New Haven Health marked a milestone by caring for its 1,000th patient. That patient, Debbi Kinell, knew of the program since her mother had been one of the program’s first patients shortly after it was launched in 2022.
Ensuring Access to Care
In this conversation, Tracey Lavallias, executive director of behavioral health at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, discusses potential solutions to make access easier for patients.
Ensuring Access to Care
Sharp Grossmont Hospital, in La Mesa, Calif., integrated age-friendly health care into their emergency department and saw significant changes in areas like readmission rates and retention of staff.
Ensuring Access to Care
Talk to a hospital leader and they’ll tell you the story of their impact on the community they serve. Learn how hospitals and health systems go above and beyond for their patients by visiting aha.org/tellingthehospitalstory.
Talk to a hospital leader and they’ll tell you the story of their impact on the community they serve. Learn how hospitals and health systems go above and beyond for their patients.
Ensuring Access to Care
Three Rivers Hospital is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help improve cancer survival outcomes in central Washington’s rural Hispanic population.
Benefiting Communities
Rochester Regional Health
Rochester, N.Y.
Since 1998, Rochester Regional Health’s Healthy Moms program has helped to improve birth outcomes in and around the central New York region.
Benefiting Communities
Bethany Children's Health Center
Bethany, Okla.
In Bethany, Okla., a new initiative is reshaping the future for disabled youth transitioning into adulthood.
Benefiting Communities
Saint Peter's University Hospital
New Brunswick, N.J.
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
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 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
CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital
Durango, Colo.
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
UnityPoint Health - Blank Children's Hospital
Des Moines, Iowa
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.
Benefiting Communities
SSM Health Hospitals in Missouri are taking a proactive role in combating the state’s high infant mortality rates through their Infant Safe Sleep Program.
Benefiting Communities
Thanks to a partnership between Monument Health and the Porter Project, thousands of second-grade students in the Black Hills of South Dakota received a free book — and homework for their parents.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Southern Illinois Healthcare
Carbondale, Ill.
Southern Illinois Healthcare has introduced Ion® robotic-assisted bronchoscopy at SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Advocate Health
Charlotte, N.C.
In this conversation, we explore how Advocate Health and Laerdal Medical are transforming patient safety through the power of simulation.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Intermountain Health Primary Children's Hospital
Salt Lake City, Utah
In a moment filled with gratitude, two families met for the first time after a groundbreaking medical event at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
In a moment filled with gratitude, two families met for the first time after a groundbreaking medical event at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
St. Luke’s Hospital
Chesterfield, Mo.
St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo., has become the first in the region to implement the da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system, marking a significant advancement in its surgical capabilities.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Texas Children’s Hospital
Houston, Texas
An extremely rare neurological disorder called aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) — a condition that prevents the brain from producing dopamine and serotonin, the essential chemicals for controlling movement, mood and basic nervous system functions — was once thought to be untreatable.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Via Christi St. Francis Hospital
Wichita, Kan.
Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita has become the first site in Kansas to perform a new procedure as part of the JOURNEY IDE clinical trial, aimed at treating severe aortic regurgitation.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Arkansas
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) performed the state’s first minimally invasive procedure to treat severe tricuspid regurgitation, a life-threatening condition caused by a leaky heart valve.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
North Country Hospital
Newport, Vt.
North Country Hospital launched a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) initiative in 2024 to improve care delivery and patient outcomes.
Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement
Inova Health System
Fairfax, Va.
In this conversation, Inova Health System's Toni Ardabell, chief of clinical enterprise operations, and Sage Bolte, Ph.D., chief philanthropy officer and president of the Inova Health Foundation, share how aligning philanthropy with mission and clinical priorities allows Inova to accelerate innovation, expand high-acuity services, and invest in the programs that change lives.
Prevention and Wellness
Women & Infants Hospital
Providence, R.I.
In this conversation, Women & Infants Hospital's Shannon Sullivan, president and chief operating officer, and Caron Zlotnick, Ph.D., director of behavioral medicine research, discuss the stigma surrounding maternal mental health.
Prevention and Wellness
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital
Lebanon, N.H.
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital’s accredited Sleep Center offers treatment for sleep disorders in adults and children who are over age 3. The hospital, part of Dartmouth Health, serves communities in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Prevention and Wellness
The Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC) is celebrating three decades of groundbreaking research that has significantly improved the health and development of children worldwide.
Prevention and Wellness
Dartmouth Health
Lebanon, N.H.
The Aging Resource Center, part of the health system’s Geriatric Center of Excellence, offers free educational classes, support and services to improve the minds, bodies and spirits of older adults and their families.
Prevention and Wellness
St. Joseph Hospital
Bangor, Maine
More than half of women and nearly one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prevention and Wellness
Kent Hospital
Warwick, R.I.
Kent Hospital’s Spaulding Rehabilitation teams offer inpatient and outpatient services, caring for patients recovering from sports injuries, stroke, traumatic brain injury, amputations, concussions, Lyme disease, Parkinson’s disease and more.
Prevention and Wellness
Elizabethtown Community Hospital
Elizabethtown N.Y.
To reduce social isolation and loneliness among older adults and help improve their health and well-being, Elizabethtown (N.Y.) Community Hospital launched the Community Friendship Volunteer Program in fall 2024.
Prevention and Wellness
Kate Leissler's journey to a healthier life has been filled with determination and resilience.
Prevention and Wellness
Novant Health
Winston Salem, N.C.
In this conversation, Sara Robinson, senior associate healthcare architect at McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, and Jamie Feinour, vice president of operations at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center and president of Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital, discuss how patient-centered design and innovative architecture come together to create spaces of healing for patients and providers, and how Sara's personal cancer journey impacted the design for Novant Health's Breast Center.
Workforce
Danbury Hospital
Danbury, Conn.
A virtual reality program for new inpatient nurses — whether they’re returning to bedside care or changing specialties — is enhancing patient safety and quality of care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, part of Nuvance Health.
Workforce
Jefferson Healthcare
Port Townsend, Wash.
In this conversation, Brandie Manuel, R.N., chief patient safety and quality officer at Jefferson Healthcare, discusses how the use of TeamSTEPPS and other tools are making a big difference in creating a thriving employee pipeline.
Workforce
Trinity Health
Livonia, Mich.
In this conversation, Tom Peterson, M.D., vice president and chief safety officer at Trinity Health, shares how Trinity's focus on both patient and workforce safety is paying off.
Workforce
Saint Peter’s Healthcare
New Jersey
Saint Peter’s Healthcare’s dual investments in infrastructure and education are improving the lives of both patients and employees.
Workforce
WellSpan Health
York, Pa.
As we observe AHA’s 8th annual #HAVHope Day, it's an important reminder that many hospital and health system leaders are looking for solutions to address the root causes of violence in their organizations and communities.
Workforce
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Ill.
In this conversation, Diane Mariani, program manager at Rush University Medical Center, discusses their Caring for Caregivers program, which shares resources and guidance to family and friends who care for older adults, while helping them better manage their own health and wellness.
Workforce
In this conversation, Renee Whiskey-LaLanne, director of community partnerships at Montefiore's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Kevin Fiori, M.D., vice chair of community health and engagement at Montefiore Health System, discuss how the lofty dream of an institute turned into reality, as well as the strategies for addressing social determinants of health.
Workforce
Hannibal Regional Hospital
Hannibal, Mo.
In this conversation, Susan Wathen, vice president of human resources at Hannibal Regional Healthcare System, discusses their unique approaches to finding and retaining future health care employees.
Workforce
NYC Health + Hospitals
New York, N.Y.
In this conversation, Jeremy Segall, chief wellness officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, discusses the system's various well-being programs, as well as the steps needed to move these programs forward in big organizations.