Health isn’t created by doctors and nurses, but by friendships and families … by good air, food, houses, roads and jobs … by strong communities and good schools. Because improving health means going beyond hospitals and physicians’ offices, the AHA encourages the field to take advantage of our ongoing series of guides on strategic considerations and approaches hospitals can use to improve the environment where people live, work and play.

Our most recent guide is a one-pager aimed at helping hospital and health system board members and leaders in vulnerable communities implement a multi-step strategy to address the underlying social conditions that often prevent people from getting access to the care they need and improving their health. It is one of nine innovative strategies identified last year by the AHA’s Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities for communities to consider based on their unique needs, support structures and preferences. The guide is the third in a series that will address each of the nine strategies.

Helping patients overcome socio-economic barriers to better health is critical to our ability to build a future whether hospitals and health systems are associated as much with health and wellness as they are with sickness. Hospitals that are addressing those barriers know what it takes to improve not just health, but the quality of people’s lives.   

Related News Articles

Chairperson's File
The connection between a hospital and its community is special. Hospitals are woven into the fabric of their communities, and working together, hospitals and…
Headline
The AHA’s Hospital Community Collaborative has launched the HCC Academy, with specialized workshops for leaders from hospitals, health systems and community…
Headline
The AHA Aug. 6 released the first poster of the People Matter, Words Matter series to be translated into Spanish. Las Personas Importan, Las Palabras Importan…
Headline
Mary Thompson — a member of AHA’s Committee on Behavioral Health and president of Trillium Place, a mental health and addiction recovery organization…
Headline
Pennsylvania Hospital CEO Alicia Gresham takes pride in being the first African American CEO of the nation's first hospital and writes about the importance of…
Blog
More than 16 years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives designated July as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Inspired by the work of author…