Advancing Health

Hospitals impact far more than what happens inside their walls. In this conversation, Doug Brown, partner with Manatt Health and current chair of the American Hospital Association's Foster G. McGaw Prize Committee, discusses how hospitals are tackling food insecurity, workforce development, safe neighborhoods, and other social drivers of health through authentic community partnerships. Discover what it takes for hospitals to truly serve as cornerstones of their communities, and how the Foster G. McGaw Prize highlights these innovative programs that are making a difference.
To learn more about the Foster G. McGaw Prize and apply for the 2027 award, visit aha.org/fostermcgaw.

In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, sits down with Mark Boucot, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital, to explore how rural hospitals can leverage technology and partnerships to deliver care close to home. From reopening a shuttered ICU to launching a low-cost virtual ICU partnership, Boucot shares how the 25-bed critical access hospital went from near-empty beds to full occupancy — all while keeping patients local and strengthening its community.

What does it take to ensure every child — no matter his/her ZIP code — has access to pediatric care? In part two of this conversation, leaders from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Mercer University School of Medicine reveal how targeted pediatric scholarships and deep community partnerships are building a sustainable pipeline of pediatricians committed to serving rural communities.

Across rural Georgia, more than 60 counties lack a single pediatrician. In this conversation, Jean Sumner, M.D., Dean of Mercer University School of Medicine, and Marc Welsh, vice president of child advocacy at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, share how an innovative public-private partnership is transforming access to pediatric care and building pipelines of rural-ready physicians.

In this Advancing Health encore episode, Josh Neff, CEO of CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, discusses a new cutting-edge communication platform that sends patient EKGs directly from the ambulance to the cardiologist in real time. Josh explains how this simple, affordable tool is cutting treatment times and saving lives in one of the nation’s most challenging regions for emergency cardiac care.