AHA Stat Blog

In the 55 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke those words, our nation has made some progress to ensure all individuals have an equal opportunity to reach their healthiest life — but we still have a long way to go.

1.5 million people. That’s the approximate number of people that hospitals and health systems have treated for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. To put that in perspective, that would mean filling Chicago’s Soldier Field to capacity 24 times.

A recent report from RAND misses the mark on solutions to the cost of health care and draws its conclusions from the same recycled and incomplete studies.

During our rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems have developed new ways of collecting, evaluating and sharing data to improve patient care. It’s one way the pandemic is reshaping health care now and into the future.

A recent JAMA article, recycles old and tired arguments about hospital consolidation without any examination of the impact of consolidation in the commercial health insurance industry or related health care sectors that promise to have a profound impact on the cost, quality and accessibility of health care for consumers.

For the last few weeks, we’ve used this space to highlight the need for the next COVID-19 relief package to provide hospitals and health systems with additional resources and support so they can continue to care for patients and protect communities.

Hospitals and health systems should embrace opportunities to work with other stakeholders in the health care ecosystem, such as tech data companies, on new combinations of services. Leaders should see this as an opportunity to work together with health care disruptors, if they are not doing so already, by sharing their tacit knowledge and expertise in health care.

Nearly 55 years ago, during the 1966 Medical Committee of Human Rights Convention, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Although there has been incremental progress toward achieving a more just health care system, Dr. King’s words still ring true today.

Join me on this episode of Leadership Rounds with Consuelo Wilkins, M.D., vice president of health equity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, based in Nashville.

With our nation’s COVID-19 vaccine administration rollout underway, policy influencers and advocacy groups are focusing on communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the fluctuating pandemic.

Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week, and its top focus will be passing President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislation.

Place-based investment, otherwise known as community investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long term. As communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, community investment will be an innovative yet useful strategy for reimagining and rebuilding a more equitable society at a scale that grants alone cannot achieve.

As we forge ahead in 2021 facing a lot of uncertainty, there’s one thing we recognize: The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting effect on the health and well-being of our nation.

The nation’s COVID-19 vaccination effort continues to have challenges, and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to make it as effective as possible to protect our patients and communities.

America’s hospitals and health systems, and our heroic caregivers, have been on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 for the past year, working tirelessly to provide needed care to patients and communities.

Although “compassion tech” does not yet define a particular category of innovations, it follows the natural evolution of health care technology. While e-health was popularized by the digitization of health care through electronic medical records, we now use “digital health” to refer to a wide range of consumer-facing and backend technologies like wearables, analytic platforms and clinical decision support.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has brought us excruciatingly difficult times, I keep saying this is the finest hour for hospitals. Our field has risen to incredible challenges with expertise, commitment and compassion, and it’s inspiring to see.

Community partnerships could address mental health care lack-of-access issues, writes Sean Blair, chief growth officer of ncgCARE, a behavioral health care organization with provider agencies in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia. Learn how to form valuable partnerships and leverage their many benefits using a plan developed by WakeMed Behavioral Health Network as the foundation.

President Biden and congressional Democrats are moving forward with the president’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal.

Mentorship has been incredibly important in the career development of most health care leaders, including me. Learning from mentors and colleagues has helped me grow personally and professionally.