Chairperson's File
Blog posts from 2025 AHA Board Chair Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, and past chairs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased attention to the issue of health care disparities. And it鈥檚 clear we鈥檝e got a lot of work ahead of us to close the gaps.
Today, we continue to grapple not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a dangerously polarized election, ongoing civil unrest in the face of untenable systemic racism 鈥 and now, 94 major wildfires that are devastating our West Coast neighbors, families and friends, as well as recent hurricanes鈥
Flu season soon will be upon us. And this year, it will take place in the middle of our ongoing battle against COVID-19.
There were 54 million U.S. residents 65 or older in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The agency projects that number will grow by nearly 30 million (to 84 million) by 2050.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals remain cornerstones of their communities, as they鈥檝e always been. They continue to serve and heal, provide jobs, food, social services and education around sound health practices.
A Renewed Call to Dare All for Our Country
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color throughout the nation, with minorities more likely to be infected and severely impacted by the virus. But its effect is more than physical.
In 2016, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu spent one week together in deep discussion about joy. How to obtain it and hold on to it in a changing and often chaotic world.
The sight of families re-emerging to gather at community playgrounds and pools brings mixed emotions. While it鈥檚 gratifying to see people enjoying themselves again, it鈥檚 also clear that COVID-19 is not in the rearview mirror, as spiking infection rates in many states demonstrate.
The AHA releases Stem the Tide: Opioid Stewardship Measurement Implementation Guide, a new data-driven guide as the 鈥渉ow to鈥 part of the Stem the Tide initiative. It connects knowing to doing, offering hospitals and health systems actionable ideas for program development and implementation.