In this conversation, Gratia Pitcher, M.D., chief medical officer and patient experience dyad leader with Essentia Health, and Larissa Africa, vice president of health care workforce solutions with Staff Garden by Ascend Learning, discuss findings from the 2026 AHA Health Care Workforce Scan.
Telling the Hospital Story
The AHA is continuing our efforts to spotlight the many ways that hospitals and health systems benefit the patients and communities they serve. See AHA's Telling the Hospital Story landing page for additional stories and an opportunity to share what your hospital or health systems is doing to benefit your community.
Every December, health care workers at MultiCare Valley Hospital, based in Spokane, Wash., take on extra seasonal roles: holiday “elves." For nine years, the staff has organized a gift drive to support local children, donating presents and essential items to families who need them most.
Frankee Angel, a lifelong performer, found her world upended when she suffered a sudden medical emergency just before playing piano at St. Patrick’s Church.
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, sits down with Mark Boucot, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital, to explore how rural hospitals can leverage technology and partnerships to deliver…
Manning Family Children’s Hospital has become the first facility in Louisiana and the broader Gulf South region to earn verification as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital is utilizing telemedicine to expand access to care and support rural hospitals that lack pediatric cardiac MRI and CT expertise.
In rural Cochise County, Ariz., many older adults struggle with limited incomes, chronic health conditions, and scarce access to essential resources. Geographic isolation and high poverty rates among seniors make basic needs — such as adult incontinence supplies — difficult to afford.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is demonstrating the powerful impact of its Food Is Medicine program.
It was Angela and Christopher’s wedding anniversary, but it looked like they wouldn’t be able to celebrate it. Angela, a nurse at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, wasn’t working — instead, she was a patient recovering from surgery to address severe abdominal pain. But her co-workers and friends…
Maintaining a trained workforce is one of the greatest challenges facing rural hospitals today. In Alabama, the shortage is particularly and increasingly severe, especially when it comes to nurses. East Alabama Health is addressing the problem in multiple ways.