AHA Stat Blog

Hospital mergers are worth discussing, but too often the criticism is far from rigorous and is more like an echo chamber where critics cite those with whom they agree and ignore inconvenient facts that show how the hospital field continues provide quality care in their communities.

American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack outlines the steps that leaders of hospitals and health systems should take to prepare for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Chief among the flaws in the most recent study on hospital consolidation published in the New England Journal of Medicine was that its conclusions were informed by preconceived notions of what the authors thought the data should show, which was then undermined further by the arbitrary choices made in comparing hospitals. Unfortunately, the media, once again, failed to closely examine the conclusions, in many instances exaggerating or misrepresenting the findings to manufacture attention-grabbing headlines.

AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton writes that recent suggestions by FTC officials that the agency intends to challenge every hospital merger in the pipeline and antipathy toward Certificates of Public Advantage are troubling on a number of levels.

During the yearlong Hospital Community Cooperative pilot program, 10 hospital and community organization teams achieved 300 sustainable community health improvement outputs and promoted health equity. Learn more about the HCC’s initial success as the program grows in 2020.

In this AHA Stat Blog, Jay Bhatt, D.O., AHA senior vice president and chief medical officer, discusses a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant awarded to AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity.

America’s health care workers are a special group of people.

AHA released its 2020 Environmental Scan which offers an overview of the trends, statistics and economic forecasts likely to affect patients and providers at every level of care.

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, M.D., and Jay Bhatt, D.O., AHA senior vice president and chief medical officer, write that American maternal health must improve, and they outline actions health care leaders should take to improve outcomes.

Maryjane Wurth, AHA executive vice president and chief operating officer, shares strategies and insights gleaned from last week’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

Tom Nickels, AHA executive vice president, responds to a PhRMA-funded study that attempts to deflect blame for a growing crisis of their own making – the skyrocketing costs of drugs.

“Human trafficking exists all around us.” That’s a quote from Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during his visit to Atlanta this week to meet with human trafficking victims.

A new thought leadership video series highlights key takeaways to create and sustain a culture of transformational performance improvement at health care organizations, writes Andrew Jager, director, population health, at the AHA Center for Health Innovation.

Health care professionals are driven by heart. They are energized by a challenge to improve the lives of others. And they are dedicated to always doing what’s best for our patients. This mission has fueled me throughout my career, and it’s the reason I’m looking forward to working with all of you during my year as chair of the AHA Board of Trustees. 

Election Day is fewer than 10 months away so get ready, get connected and get involved.

In addition to improving quality, mergers produce important cost savings and do not increase revenues.

AHA Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Jay Bhatt, D.O. recently was featured on a Fox News story on hospitals in Denver and Chicago are investing in real estate and moving individuals directly from hospital emergency rooms into stable housing with intensive case management. See the story and more on AHA’s efforts to advance health.

Watch the video below to learn more about her background, key priorities and what she is most excited about for her year as AHA chair.

On behalf of the AHA Board of Trustees and our team, thank you for everything you do to advance health in America.

Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells who authored AHA's amicus briefs in the case, answers questions about the decision.