Advancing Health

Violence in health care settings has grown alarmingly in recent years, and health care leaders are urgently searching for ways to keep their teams safe. In this new "Safety Speaks" conversation, Barbara Griffith, M.D., president of Duke Raleigh Hospital, discusses the successful steps the organization has taken to address the sharp rise in workplace violence, and how reducing violent incidents requires collaboration among multiple support agencies.

Dartmouth Health is the most rural academic medical center in the country, and like other rural hospitals and health systems, it faces challenges that affect its ability to attract and recruit top talent.  In this conversation, Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, and 2024 chair of the AHA Board of Trustees, shares how Dartmouth Health has implemented workforce solutions that can be successful anywhere.  

Hospitals and health systems are committed to the mission of patient safety, and the steady improvement in patient safety across the field has been encouraging. But a lingering question remains – can it be sustained? In this conversation, Oren Guttman, M.D., anesthesiologist and vice president of High Reliability & Patient Safety at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses the mindset of resilience engineering, the future of patient safety and the big questions this work reveals.

Indigenous women are more likely to experience complications from pregnancy and childbirth than non-Indigenous women, leading to higher rates of anxiety and depression within those communities. In this conversation, Jennifer Richards, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Center for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Jennifer Crawford, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, discuss the perspectives needed to provide maternal care for Indigenous peoples, and the importance of awareness of their cultural and spiritual practices.

Approximately nine million military veterans receive their health care through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and nearly half of them are 65 and older. In this conversation, Kimberly Wozneak, national lead for Age-Friendly Health Systems, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, discusses how the VHA is weaving four foundational age-friendly principles into its care to support the growing number of aging veterans.

To learn more about the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement and the 4Ms, visit AHA.org/agefriendly.

With ongoing workforce challenges, the health care industry is in desperate need of skilled and experienced workers. Military health care veterans, such as medics and corpsmen, are one solution to potentially easing the shortage. In this special Veterans Day conversation, Anne Mork, R.N., vice president/chief nursing officer of ambulatory and nursing support services at UW Health, and Luke Sticht, former vice president and chief nursing officer of American Family Children's Hospital, discuss the wealth of knowledge that military health care professionals can bring to organizations, and how their service experience keeps them focused on the mission to care for others.

Military-Informed Care: What it Means for Veterans and Their Families 

The care needs of military-connected families can look different from those of other patients. Higher emotional or mental stress, and longer rehabilitation, are just a few of the challenges that these families can face. In observation of Veterans Day, Steve Schwab, CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, and Kara Walker, M.D., executive vice president and chief population health officer at Nemours Children’s Health, discuss how hospitals and health systems can meet the special health care needs for families who sacrifice the most.

For historically underserved populations, stigma and lack of access to behavioral health services can present huge barriers to treatment.  In this conversation, Matthew Hoag, director of integrated behavioral health at Denver Health, shares how the organization is innovating through integration to meet the behavioral health needs of its communities, including with its state-of-the-art mobile opioid treatment unit.

The increase in telehealth services has transformed care delivery in America by expanding access for millions. In this conversation, Johnna Nynas, M.D., OB/GYN at Sanford Health Bemidji, discusses the dramatic expansion of maternal telehealth capabilities in Minnesota, as well as an inspiring telehealth program that reaches families in rural areas of the state.

Even a few decades ago, non-physician practitioners, also called advanced practice providers (APPs), barely existed in the health care industry. Today, APPs are found practically everywhere.  In this conversation, Michelle Schweitzer, NP, executive director of advanced practice providers at WakeMed, discusses the growing role her APP colleagues play in health care delivery, and how the rise of these unique caregivers benefits both patients and providers.