AHA Stat Blog

The American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award recognizes those hospital leaders who most effectively educate elected officials on how major issues affect the hospital’s vital role in the community.

National Hospital Week is a wonderful opportunity to take time to celebrate the health care field and the people who make health care so special.

We’re pleased to see CMS follow through on its commitment to reduce regulatory burden. This is crucially needed as we continue, and accelerate, the transition to value-based care.

All organizations must remain vigilant and ensure the proper cybersecurity procedures and controls are in place and practiced. While the stolen information may not retrievable, steps can be taken to mitigate the Mabna threat and other nation-state-sponsored cyber threats to academic medical centers, hospitals and health systems. This will help safeguard medical research and, most importantly, protect patients.

AHA Trustee Services – accessible on the AHA’s website at trustees.aha.org – now is the hub for AHA’s trustee education efforts.

The theme for this year’s National Minority Health Month, “Partnering for Health Equity,” couldn’t be timelier.

By helping our communities better understand advance directives and health care decision-making at the end of life, we can demystify the topic and increase the number of people who have a plan in place. 

This year presents an important opportunity to educate your legislators on the changes taking place in the health care field. They need to hear from you on how your organization is innovating to create greater value and improve affordability, including forming new models and partnerships to deliver care.

As baby boomers retire, millennials will become an even larger part of the workforce, so engaging them will become more important than ever.

Each April, the AHA joins Donate Life America, the Health Resources and Services Administration and others in highlighting the important role of organ, eye and tissue donation in providing hope and health. 

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a Vital Signs report identifying the threats associated with antibiotic resistance (AR) and recommending “early and aggressive action” to prevent resistant pathogens from spreading in health care facilities.

Opioid addiction is a mounting public health crisis. Individuals with substance use disorder are struggling with a brain disease.

The AHA Physician Alliance supports clinical and administrative leadership collaborating effectively for better health of communities.

Axios Vitals recent story on hospitals’ Medicare margins seemed to cherry pick data from a March Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report to Congress to imply that hospitals “lose money” on Medicare because they are allegedly inefficient.

Eating healthful foods is important for good health, but individuals and households that are “food insecure” face challenges when it comes to getting enough food, consuming high-quality food or both.

The AHA’s 49th Annual Membership Meeting, May 6-9, comes at a critical time for the hospital and health care field. And its theme – Redefining the “H” – could not be more appropriate.

Hospitals and health systems across the country are collaborating with organizations in their communities to address food insecurity and housing, the opioid epidemic and other challenges that influence health and well-being.

Patient Safety Awareness Week is an opportunity for hospitals and health systems to reflect on their patient safety journey and share their progress. 

The second year of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) began on Jan. 1.

Please take the opportunity this week to share your work and resources on patient safety, safety culture and patient engagement with your community.