Chairperson's File

2024 AHA Board Chair Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., headshot.

Blog posts from 2024 AHA Board Chair Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, and past chairs.

Small tests of change can give hospitals momentum and show early progress in improvement projects. Lakeview Regional Medical Center, a 172-bed hospital in Covington, La., focused on collaborating, improving coordination and conducting small tests of change to reduce its 30-day readmissions rate.
Improving patient safety, leading multiple improvement efforts and moving to value-based care: The AHA's Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative supports hospitals' and health care systems' efforts in these areas with resources created to accelerate performance and quality improvement and…
Whether cheering for soccer, tennis, baseball, softball or another sport, fans no doubt have witnessed the robust and disciplined preparation of star athletes in their field. Using a disciplined and robust financial planning process can guide hospitals and care systems navigating the challenging…
Here's the promising news: About 95 percent of hospitals and health care systems collect data on patients' race, ethnicity and primary language. The not-so-good news is only 22 percent of hospitals and systems are using that data to identify disparities in treatment or outcomes between racial or…
Improving population health is a must-do strategy in transforming health care delivery. Yale New Haven Health System, based in New Haven, Conn., has progressed quickly to improve population health management, developing data-driven interventions. The health system conducts a community health needs…
Hospitals and health care systems can support their missions and also many additional benefits by tapping into the power of environmental sustainability. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, a 178-bed hospital in Dover, N.H., completed a series of sustainability projects that have brought significant…
Transition coaches may be the “glue” between hospital visits and primary care. So says Julie Cann-Taylor, COO of Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. The 191-bed rural hospital participates in a statewide collaborative to improve care transitions and has five transition coaches who assist…
Improving care after discharge translates to decreased readmissions. Marshall Medical Center, a 113-bed hospital in Placerville, Calif., used the AHA/HRET Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) change package driver to improve care transitions for discharged patients, reducing its readmission rate by…
National Hospital Week celebrates the men and women working in U.S. hospitals and care systems who are always ready to serve, care and heal. Like many U.S. hospitals and care systems, the staff at Main Line Health provides health care to a diverse patient population. The health system, which serves…
Today's hospital and care system leaders are addressing challenges while maximizing opportunities for transformation and innovation in the U.S. health care system. The AHA's nine-month Health Care Transformation Fellowship provides senior health care leaders with knowledge and actionable tools…