/ en Wed, 30 Jul 2025 23:53:58 -0500 Mon, 28 Jul 25 15:58:16 -0500 /news/headline/2025-07-28-ashe-recognizes-2025-award-winners <p>The American Society for Health Care Engineering July 28 <a href="https://www.ashe.org/2025-ashe-awards-recognize-members-outstanding-contributions-health-care-facilities-field">announced</a> the recipients of its annual member awards during the <a href="https://www.ashe.org/education/health-care-facilities-innovation-conference">2025 Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference</a>, taking place July 27-30 in Columbus, Ohio. The Crystal Eagle Leadership Award, considered ASHE’s lifetime achievement award, was presented to Dave Lockhart, executive director for facilities operations and maintenance for Kaiser Permanente’s national shared service operations based in Oakland, Calif. The ASHE President’s Award, given at the discretion of the sitting ASHE president to an individual who excels at optimizing the health care physical environment, was presented to Larry Newlands, director of energy management for Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston. <br><br>Additionally, ASHE recognized members who attained senior and fellow status within the association this year. ASHE also announced recipients of its Emerging Regional Leader Awards, recognizing 10 young professionals and individuals new to the field.</p> Mon, 28 Jul 2025 15:58:16 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/perspective/2025-07-25-delivering-safe-quality-care-patients-top-priority-hospitals-and-health-systems <p>The 2025 AHA Leadership Summit wrapped up on July 22, and as always, it was energizing and inspiring to connect with so many talented and dedicated people whose passion and vision for health care promise great things for the future.</p><p>But even as we heard new ideas about innovative approaches shaping care delivery today, we know that all these exciting advancements will never take anyone’s eye off the true North Star of health care: quality and patient safety.</p><p>Delivering safe, high quality care to patients remains hospitals’ top priority and is at the center of everything they do. The AHA continues to play a key role in leading and supporting the field by developing new resources, spreading innovative initiatives and strategies, and highlighting outstanding efforts through national recognition programs.</p><p>One way we do this is through the <a href="/aha-patient-safety-initiative" target="_blank">AHA’s Patient Safety Initiative</a>, which was launched in 2023 to catalyze, convene and connect members around patient safety while helping lift up your own powerful stories. This initiative focuses on providing hospitals with tools and data to advance patient safety, offers a platform for sharing their stories of improvement with peers and highlights examples of innovation that support, spread and sustain safety improvement.</p><p>As part of the initiative, this week we announced a <a href="/news/headline/2025-07-24-aha-epic-collaborate-toward-improving-maternal-health-outcomes" target="_blank">collaboration with the health care technology company Epic</a> to help more hospitals adopt a set of tools to aid in the detection and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage — a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of childbirth that accounts for 11% of maternal deaths in the United States. Point-of-care tools in electronic health records can help health care providers prevent, detect and treat postpartum hemorrhage, ultimately saving lives and improving care for mothers across America.</p><p>This work builds on the <a href="/better-health-for-mothers-and-babies" target="_blank">AHA’s Better Health for Mothers and Babies Initiative</a>, which provides a wide array of resources to help hospitals and health care systems play a key role in improving maternal and infant outcomes. </p><p>Hospitals and health systems do some of their most important learning from each other. Sharing best practices, ideas and experiences that have succeeded in improving health and safety outcomes is one of the best ways to advance health for our field.</p><p>Throughout the Leadership Summit, we hosted many workshops and sessions focused on quality and patient safety. We heard from hospital and health system leaders about how cutting-edge artificial intelligence is transforming the patient and clinical experience, how employee engagement is a driver of safety, quality and the patient experience of care, and how to integrate storytelling into patient safety efforts.</p><p>We also recognized several hospitals and health systems with AHA awards, including <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-15-aha-honors-two-exemplary-health-systems-their-dedication-and-commitment-quality" target="_blank">AHA’s Quest for Quality Prize</a>, which honors exceptional health care leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health in America’s communities.</p><p>Health care ultimately is about people caring for other people. While hospitals and health systems continue to make progress advancing quality and safety, we know that the journey is far from over. As we navigate the challenging road ahead with exciting opportunities to advance clinical care, even with its unpredictable twists and turns, quality and patient safety will always be our guide.</p> Fri, 25 Jul 2025 09:21:14 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-21-aha-recognizes-hospitals-and-health-systems-innovation-community-well-being-and-quality-care <p>AHA Chair-elect Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist, and AHA Immediate-past Chair Joanne Conroy, M.D., president and CEO of Dartmouth Health, introduced several AHA award presentations during the 2025 Leadership Summit, recognizing hospitals and health systems for innovation, advancing health and excellence. <br> </p><ul><li>The 2025 <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-14-fairview-health-services-awarded-2025-aha-foster-g-mcgaw-prize">Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service</a>, recognizing hospital and health systems that have distinguished themselves through efforts to improve the health and well-being of everyone in their communities, was presented to Fairview Health Services.</li><li>The <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-16-five-collaborative-programs-earn-2025-aha-dick-davidson-nova-award">Dick Davidson NOVA Award</a>, celebrating outstanding collaboration by hospitals and health systems to achieve healthier communities, was presented to Endeavor Health, IU Health, Mass General Brigham, MedStar Health and Rochester Regional Health. </li><li>The 2025 <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-15-aha-honors-two-exemplary-health-systems-their-dedication-and-commitment-quality">Quest for Quality Prize</a>, honoring hospitals and health systems that exemplify excellence in delivering high-quality, safe and patient-centered care, was presented to Harford HealthCare. </li><li>The 2025<a href="/press-releases/2025-07-17-two-programs-recognized-2025-aha-circle-life-award-honorees"> Circle of Life Award</a>, focusing on the crucial data-driven innovations happening in palliative and end-of-life care, was presented to Gilchrist and Bristol Hospice — Hawaii. </li></ul> Mon, 21 Jul 2025 16:29:46 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-17-2025-aha-circle-life-award-honorees-named <p>Gilchrist in Baltimore and Bristol Hospice — Hawaii are winners of the <a href="/about/awards/circle-life" title="award">AHA 2025 Circle of Life Award</a> for their efforts in palliative and end-of-life care. The awards will be presented at the AHA Leadership Summit, taking place July 20-22 in Nashville, Tenn. <br> <br>“This year’s Circle of Life Award honorees have created compassionate and impactful palliative and end-of-life care programs that provide invaluable support to patients and families during their most challenging moments,” <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-17-two-programs-recognized-2025-aha-circle-life-award-honorees" title="Rick's remark">said</a> Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “These programs are finding innovative ways to provide patients and their families with greater comfort as their disease progresses.” <br> <br>Gilchrist offers palliative care, geriatric primary care, dementia care, hospice care and bereavement support. Staff are organized into teams based in six locations and provide many home-based services, in addition to providing care at three hospice facilities. Gilchrist is participating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model pilot and the Maryland Department of Health’s coalition bringing PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) to West Baltimore City. <br> <br>By increasing access to palliative care, Bristol Hospice, based in Honolulu, has seen fewer hospital admissions. The hospice has worked with private insurers to show how palliative care can improve disease management and reduce emergency department and hospital utilization, as well as created multiple strategies to ensure the growing Medicaid population receives the same level of care as those with private insurance.</p> Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:02:16 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-15-aha-announces-quest-quality-prize-winner-and-finalist <p>Hartford HealthCare in Hartford, Conn., will receive the 2025 AHA Quest for Quality Prize as a result of their sweeping transformation over the past decade — creating a culture of continuous improvement and system-wide innovation. Hartford HealthCare will be honored during the AHA Leadership Summit July 20-22 in Nashville, Tenn. CommonSpirit Health, headquartered in Chicago, was named a finalist for focusing on community partnerships, patient safety and family involvement. The AHA Quest for Quality Prize recognizes exceptional health care leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health in America’s communities.</p><p>“This year’s winners of the AHA’s Quest for Quality are role models for excellence in patient care for the entire hospital field,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “They have demonstrated a deep dedication to creating a culture enabling quality practices to flourish while connecting with their communities through new approaches, techniques and technologies.”</p><p><a href="/press-releases/2025-07-15-aha-honors-two-exemplary-health-systems-their-dedication-and-commitment-quality" target="_blank">Read more</a> about the honorees’ strategies and achievements.</p><p>The AHA Quest for Quality prize is sponsored by Laerdal Medical, a global leader in health care simulation. Laerdal partners with hospital organizations to help improve individual clinical skills and team performance through immersive educational experiences. Laerdal works with clinicians across the care continuum by incorporating analytic insight to identify areas of opportunity and potential latent patient safety threats.</p> Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:56:04 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-14-minnesota-health-system-receive-2025-foster-g-mcgaw-prize <p>Fairview Health Services, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit health system of 10 hospitals and medical centers serving the greater Twin Cities metro area and north-central Minnesota, is the winner of the AHA’s 2025 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. The prize recognizes Fairview’s comprehensive approach to programs and services that advance health for the patients and communities it serves. <br> <br>Fairview will be recognized at the AHA Leadership Summit in Nashville, Tenn., on July 21 and receive $100,000 toward programs that further the prize’s goals. <br> <br>“Each and every day, Fairview Health Services collaborates with a range of community partners to help Minnesotans reach their full health potential,” said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “From addressing food insecurity to providing free clinical services in community settings to helping neighbors navigate the health care system, Fairview’s community outreach programs serve as a national model to the hospital field.” <br> <br>Inova Health in Northern Virginia, LifeBridge Health in Baltimore and Rush University System for Health in Chicago were also recognized as finalists and will receive $10,000 each. Read <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-14-fairview-health-services-awarded-2025-aha-foster-g-mcgaw-prize" title="FGM winners">more</a> about the prize recipients and their initiatives.</p><p>The Foster G. McGaw Prize is sponsored by the Baxter Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International, and is administered by the AHA. The prize is given annually to a health care organization that has shown exceptional commitment to community health and developing innovative partnerships with community organizations to address societal factors influencing health and improving access to high quality safe health care for all. </p> Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:09:54 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-10-applications-open-ahas-rural-hospital-excellence-innovation-award <p>The Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award honors rural hospitals that are leading the way in innovative, sustainable and community-centered care. If your hospital is operating unique programs and services that address health care challenges in your community, submit an <a href="https://aha-awards.secure-platform.com/awards">application</a> by noon CT, Aug. 29. Honorees will be recognized at the AHA’s Rural Health Care Leadership Summit in February 2026.  <br> </p> Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:10:47 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-07-10-applications-ahas-circle-life-award-close-july-15 <p>AHA’s <a href="/about/awards/circle-life">Circle of Life Award</a> celebrates innovation in palliative and end-of-life care and seeks to provide best practices and models for the field. Programs and organizations that are making progress as shown in metrics and current data are encouraged to <a href="https://aha-awards.secure-platform.com/awards">apply</a> by noon CT, July 15. Up to three awards may be presented; the Award Committee may also present Citations of Honor. The awards will be presented at the 2026 AHA Leadership Summit, July 12-14, in Denver.</p> Thu, 10 Jul 2025 14:59:55 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-06-20-applications-open-2026-circle-life-award <p>The AHA’s <a href="/about/awards/circle-life" target="_blank">Circle of Life Award</a> celebrates innovation in palliative and end-of-life care. Up to three Circle of Life Awards will be presented at the 2026 AHA Leadership Summit, July 12-14, in Denver. The Award Committee also may present Citations of Honor to other noteworthy programs. <a href="https://aha-awards.secure-platform.com/awards" target="_blank">Applications</a> are due noon CT July 15.</p> Fri, 20 Jun 2025 15:43:48 -0500 Recognition and Awards /news/headline/2025-05-28-foundation-recognizes-635-hospitals-clinical-well-being-champions <p>The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation has <a href="https://drlornabreen.org/healthcare-community-prioritizes-mental-health-support/">recognized</a> 50 licensure boards and 635 hospitals for changing invasive and stigmatizing mental health questions in their licensing applications. <br><br>“Healthcare is — and will always be — a uniquely human experience,” said Chris DeRienzo, M.D., AHA chief physician executive. “That's as true for the people providing the care as it is for those who receive it. Today’s milestone marks a profound step forward in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our entire healthcare workforce.”</p><p>The 635 hospitals changing questions on their licensing applications marks a 15% increase since February.</p><p>“Caring for others, whether as a direct caregiver or a leader caring for teams, is highly rewarding yet comes with challenges,” said Claire M. Zangerle, DNP, R.N., senior vice president and chief nurse executive of the AHA and CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. “One of those challenges may be caring for ourselves, especially our mental health. Reducing the shame of seeking assistance from fear of having to reveal that request as a licensed or credentialed professional is a positive step toward fortifying a healthy workforce. Embracing language and practices that invite caregivers to care for their mental health can only result in better outcomes for those we serve, and ourselves.”</p> Wed, 28 May 2025 16:29:58 -0500 Recognition and Awards