AHA Stat Blog

In this AHA blog, Michelle Hood, AHA executive vice president and chief operating officer and president for the AHA’s Health Forum, honors the important role of local care close to home, and shares her experiences leading health care organizations serving some of America’s most rural communities.

At Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, we were involved very early in this pandemic. We are still caring for the majority of patients with the coronavirus in our community, and we learn more every day. Looking back on many months of dealing with COVID-19, here are some lessons I learned, which may resonate with you too.

In this AHA blog, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels discusses the resources hospitals and health systems need and what additional relief Congress should deliver during the COVID-19 public health emergency and beyond.

As we celebrate National Rural Health Day on Nov. 19, it’s important to recognize the work rural hospitals are doing to improve access to maternal care for mothers living in rural communities, writes Priya Bathija, AHA’s vice president of strategic initiatives.

For the 20% of Americans who rely on rural hospitals for their care, the blue and white “H” is among the most reassuring signs they’ll ever see. It signals that expert care, help and healing is available and nearby. Even if that hospital is located dozens of miles away from the patient or family it serves, it is close enough to make a difference — to be a reliable partner in health care.

In two recent reports, the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) appears to use oversimplified analytic approach and draws overly broad conclusions about price variation and price growth variation. Their analysis does not address many of the key factors that can contribute to price variation and growth, while also ignoring broader trends in the health care market.

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good” is a quote credited to the French writer and thinker Voltaire. Although he died in 1778, that phrase is very appropriate today when discussing the Affordable Care Act.

Combating stigma is the missing element to the nation’s response to the addiction crisis, writes Matthew Stefanko, director of National Stigma Initiative for Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the U.S. Read more about how and why our understanding of stigma can save tens of thousands of lives.

Last week, we Americans exercised our hallowed right to vote in record numbers. We did so at a time of unusual stress, facing steep challenges and deep divisions within our country. Yet once more, we honored our democratic system and our heritage by using the ballot to speak our minds.

We shouldn’t be surprised by now, but 2020 continues to be an extraordinary year … and it’s not over yet.

There are so many statistics being shared related to maternal mortality in the United States — but what is the real story?

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times, “Trump doled out billions to drug makers and hospitals with few strings attached,” misses the mark. The reality is that America’s hospitals and health systems are facing their greatest financial crisis

The U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 10 will hear oral argument in California v. Texas, the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act. 

The American Hospital Association and Microsoft now offer a free, one-hour course, for continuing education credits, to guide health care teams through key considerations and specific actions for AI’s responsible and strategic implementation.

For the last several months, disturbing and unproven theories have gained attention about the death count for COVID-19. We find these erroneous and egregious charges leveled against doctors – which have been repeated during the past few weeks – dismaying, disconcerting and disturbing.

Some health care needs are predictable but some are not. We can plan around giving birth, having a heart bypass, or scheduling a colonoscopy. But there are also surprises, such as injuries from accidents, or a cancer that appears with no family history … or COVID-19.

We’ve been discussing for months how hospitals and health systems are contending with the worst financial crisis in their history as they continue to serve on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.

White Plains Hospital in Westchester County, New York, found itself at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. A team led by our chief information officer began to investigate more efficient methods to automate temperate screenings, including using thermal cameras to take temperatures. They went with a self-service cart with a thermal camera imbedded in it.

A COVID-19 vaccine is likely coming soon. Whether it’s next month, at the end of the year or in early 2021, many scientific experts believe we will have one or more safe and effective vaccines to combat the deadly virus.

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