Chairperson's File
Blog posts from 2025 AHA Board Chair Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, and past chairs.
At North Shore-LIJ Health System, teamwork is everywhere. This New York health system uses TeamSTEPPS鈥擳eam Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety鈥攁n evidence-based program developed by the Department of Defense and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.鈥
Zero is an important number at Broward Health North. The 409-bed community hospital in Deerfield Beach, Fla., is 鈥渃hasing zero.鈥 That's zero for 0 infections and 0 falls to keep patients safe.
A summer internship program growing in Brooklyn is introducing minority high school students to community health and issues of health care equity. The Health Disparities Summer Internship Program is part of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center (BHDC), a partnership between SUNY Downstate Medical鈥
The nation's health care system is undergoing dramatic change as the country shifts to a value-based business model. The pace of the transition varies by market, but hospitals, care systems and other providers must be proactive. The Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence guide 鈥淰alue-based鈥
In July 2013, the AHA released another collection of action-oriented resources that can help hospitals and health care systems design and implement strategies to deliver care that is safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and patient-centered. Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence: A Compendium鈥
It is both 鈥渁 sprint and a marathon.鈥 That's how a team at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., described reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Along with SJMH, many hospitals and care systems are part of the sprint-marathon and using the Comprehensive Unit-鈥
Only a small percentage of patients develop a health care-associated infection after surgery, and it is estimated that about half of such infections are preventable. West Valley Medical Center, a 150-bed community hospital in Caldwell, Idaho, participates in STOP SSIs鈥擲tudy to Optimally鈥
How do you successfully integrate behavioral health and primary care? A recent HPOE webinar highlighted the work of St. Charles Health System in Bend, Oregon, to coordinate care and help develop a care transformation plan in the state. The plan's goal is to achieve the Triple Aim of improved鈥
Providing quality care for patients with limited English proficiency can be challenging, even for large health care systems. Each year Vidant Health, a regional health system serving eastern North Carolina, logs more than 24,000 distinct patient encounters with a primary language other than English鈥
The aviation industry has successfully used checklists to ensure safe air travel for passengers and crew. Now health care professionals are using checklists more frequently to provide safe care for patients. Checklists have improved processes for patient care in operating rooms, intensive care and鈥