Welcome to the American Hospital Association’s new podcast series #JustLead, a series highlighting how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with AHA Awards for innovation, collaboration, and health equity, are transforming health care for their communities. One of the five programs recognized with a 2022 AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award is The Doorway at Cheshire Medical Center, in Keene New Hampshire. The Doorway specializes in substance use disorder, finding new ways to reach out to and treat that vulnerable population. Nelson Hayden leads the program; and Laurie Butz-MeyerRose is a clinician at Doorway. The annual AHA Dick Davidson NOVA awards recognize the stars of this effort. The awards salute those programs that are helping to address many of our nation’s most pressing health challenges while creating healthier communities and increasing well-being for their neighbors. By the way, the deadline for applications for the 2023 NOVA Award is November 16th. You can learn more at www.aha.org/nova.

Rural America is in crisis. A spike in suicides and deaths by substance abuse has strained communities already struggling with a lack of clinical and inpatient resources. But there is hope. Led by their local health systems, two rural communities in Colorado and North Carolina have rallied to meet the challenge — and they’re changing the fortunes of those that live and work there. In this two-part series, we learn how these communities are developing new and innovative solutions to build capacity for behavioral health services. In today’s part one podcast, John Supplitt, senior director of Rural Health Services, AHA, and Jordan Steiger, senior program manager, AHA clinical affairs and workforce, start the discussion with some alarming statistics about the prevalence of mental health issues — including thoughts of suicide in many rural communities. Then Will Cook, President and CEO of Vail Health in Colorado, joins the podcast, to discuss solving the “paradise paradox” and stemming the surge of suicides in Eagle River Valley, Colorado.

Millions of people across the country cast their ballots in the 2022 mid-term elections. While some votes are still being counted and certain races remain too close to call on the day after Election Day. On today’s podcast, Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, AHA's senior vice president of federal relations, advocacy and political affairs, leads a discussion with two veteran political consultants – Dave Bockorny, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Bockorny Group, and Dave Leiter, President of Plurus Strategies. They examine key results of the House and Senate races (1:08), thoughts on the future 2024 election (16:57), and the mid-term election's impact on health care in America (24:14).

Welcome to the American Hospital Association’s new podcast series #JustLead, a series highlighting how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with AHA Awards for innovation, collaboration, and health equity, are transforming health care for their communities, AHA’s 2022 NOVA Awards recognized five programs, among them “Community Connect,” from Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis/St. Paul. In a nutshell, the program uses well-child visits at primary care clinics to identify unmet health-related social needs. In this podcast, Community Connect’s manager joins AHA’s senior associate director for media relations to discuss the successful results. The annual AHA Dick Davidson NOVA awards recognize the stars of this effort. The awards salute those programs that are helping to address many of our nation’s most pressing health challenges while creating healthier communities and increasing well-being for their neighbors. By the way, the deadline for applications for the 2023 NOVA Award is November 16th. You can learn more at www.aha.org/nova.

The School Blue Envelope Suicide Prevention Program – a creation of Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich. – is among the five programs recognized with a 2022 NOVA Award. The program lays out specific steps school administrators can take if they learn that a student has thoughts of suicide. In this podcast, two Spectrum Health experts join AHA’s senior associate director for media relations to discuss the difference their approach has made. Welcome to the American Hospital Association’s new podcast series #JustLead, a series highlighting how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with AHA Awards for innovation, collaboration, and health equity, are transforming health care for their communities. The annual AHA Dick Davidson NOVA awards recognize the stars of this effort. The awards salute those programs that are helping to address many of our nation’s most pressing health challenges while creating healthier communities and increasing well-being for their neighbors. The deadline for applications for the 2023 NOVA Award is November 16th. You can learn more at www.aha.org/nova.

In the midst of all the change surrounding the health care field right now, the impact of climate change has sometimes been overlooked. But for Dartmouth Health in New Hampshire, that is starting to what else? … change. The health care field is increasingly aware of the impact of climate change. More and more, organizations are thinking about how to address environmental sustainability. On this Leadership Dialogue Series podcast, AHA Board Chair Wright L. Lassiter III is joined by Joanne M. Conroy, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health in Hanover, New Hampshire. Conroy also is the Chair-elect Designate of the AHA Board of Trustees and will succeed Lassiter in that job next year. The two health care leaders discuss the creation of a group, the Alliance for Health and Climate Change, which is focused on identifying big and small changes to decrease the Dartmouth’s carbon footprint. Conroy tells Wright that her employees have lots of good ideas, such as covering all parking areas with solar panels, and Dartmouth Health is open to trying as many of them as it can.

Every day, hospitals and health systems are doing some of the most innovative work in America, finding new ways and new partners to collaborate with to advance the health of their communities. Each is turning to a different approach for patient care. Welcome to the American Hospital Association's new podcast series, Just Lead, a series highlighting how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with awards for innovation, collaboration and health equity are transforming health care for their communities. The annual AHA Dick Davidson Nova Awards recognize the stars of this effort. The awards salute those programs that are helping to address many of our nation's most pressing health challenges while creating healthier communities and increasing well-being for their neighbors. The deadline for applications for the 2023 NOVA Awards is November 16th. You can learn more at www.aha.org/nova. One of the five programs recognized with the 2022 Nova Award is California's Monterey County Diabetes Collaborative. A joint venture from the Salinas Valley Memorial Health Care System and Montage Health. With me today are Dr. Steven Packer, president and CEO of Montage Health in Monterey, California and Pete Delgado, president and CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Health Care System.

Some 63 million rural residents across the U.S. depend on their area hospital as their primary – and often only – source of accessible medical care. Yet a variety of factors have caused the closure of 136 rural hospitals from 2010 to 2021, with a record 19 closures in 2020 alone. Most reasons are economic. They include low reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, low patient volume and regulatory barriers, as well as the continued financial challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, expenses for labor, drugs, supplies and equipment have skyrocketed. In this podcast Jeff Subler, president and CEO of Wayne HealthCare in Greenville, Ohio, discusses the unique challenges facing rural communities and rural hospitals, the impact closures have on the communities they serve, and the role Congress must play in extending programs such as Low-volume Adjustments that support rural hospitals.

In this episode, Shanna Cox, associate director for science in CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, and Aisha Syeda, senior program manager for AHA’s strategic initiatives, discuss the reasons behind the increase in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, its health outcomes, and what hospitals can do to identify and prevent associated complications. Additionally, Cox shares strategies and resources hospitals can use to guide this work with equity in mind, including assets from the CDC’s Hear Her campaign.

#JustLead featuring NorthShore University HealthSystem by American Hospital Association