Health disparities are deeply connected to the challenges facing healthcare affordability and access. In this conversation, Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, explores the connection between health disparities, healthcare costs and economic impact. Brian also discusses how hospitals and health systems can use data to identify these disparities and work with community partners to help bend the healthcare cost curve.

As Florida’s population ages, healthcare systems are facing a growing need for highly skilled workers. In this conversation, Nikki Daily, chief team resources officer at BayCare Health System, discusses how the organization is addressing that challenge by building career pathways, developing apprenticeships, and partnering with community organizations to create opportunities for the healthcare workforce.

Being rural doesn’t have to mean being disconnected. Hear how hospitals are using technology-enabled care and strong regional partnerships to connect rural communities with clinical expertise and expand access to nearby maternal care.

Featured in this episode are leaders from Avera Health, Banner Health and Dartmouth Health.

For more information on rural maternal care in America, please visit https://www.aha.org/ruralmaternal

Primary care is becoming a critical strategy for hospitals and health systems looking to improve access, coordinate care and keep patients healthier outside the hospital. In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, talks with David Banks, president and CEO of AdventHealth. They discuss the organization's strategy to expand primary care across its communities, the importance of giving primary care its own leadership and resources, and why the future of community health depends on building stronger relationships with patients.

Rural hospitals are rethinking how they build and sustain the teams behind maternal care. In part two of this special three-part Advancing Health podcast series, hear how leaders are creating new pathways into the workforce, investing in training, and bringing together the skills and expertise needed to support families in rural communities.

Featured in this episode are leaders from Banner Health, Dartmouth Health, Harrison Memorial Hospital, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Western Wisconsin Health.

Episode Three releases on September 30.

For more information on rural maternal care in America, please visit https://www.aha.org/ruralmaternal

Medical research only changes lives when it reaches the patients who need it. In this conversation, Corey Casper, M.D., senior vice president and chief research officer at Banner Health, and professor of clinical translational science at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, explores how Banner Health is using clinical research, technology and strategic partnerships to bring new discoveries closer to patients — including an at-home blood test for Alzheimer’s disease and a portable MRI designed to bring advanced brain imaging to rural communities.

What happens when leaders decide that maternal care belongs in their community — and commit to making it work? In part one of this special Advancing Health podcast series, hear how rural hospital leaders are turning that commitment into action and finding new possibilities for sustaining maternal care close to home.

Featured in this episode are leaders from Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Rochester Regional Health, Harrison Memorial Hospital, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, Smith County Memorial Hospital and Western Wisconsin Health

Episode Two releases on September 23.

For more information on rural maternal care in America, please visit https://www.aha.org/ruralmaternal

Building trust with patients before a crisis can be one of the most powerful tools in preventing violence in healthcare settings. In this conversation, Tom Saggio, R.N., director of behavioral health operations at St. Louis Children's Hospital, explains how the hospital's teams are using proactive intervention, behavioral assessments and de-escalation techniques to improve safety for patients, families and healthcare workers.