Hospital leaders share insights at AHA forum on driving innovation, value

Pictured, above, from top left going clockwise: Maryjane Wurth, executive vice president and chief operating officer, AHA, and AHA Chair-elect Melinda Estes, M.D., president and CEO of Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Mo.; Jason Spring, chief strategic officer for Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare and a member of the AHA Board of Trustees; Priya Bathija, a vice president at AHA, and Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala, founder and CEO of access.mobile; and attendees of the forum.

At an AHA forum today in Denver, hospital and health system leaders shared how they are collaborating with other health care providers, payers, employers and community partners to deliver better care and value to consumers. Topics at the forum ranged from engaging patients to building a culture of value.

“Hospitals are stepping up to address the challenges facing them and are coming up with innovative approaches,” said AHA Chair-elect Melinda Estes, M.D., president and CEO of Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Mo. “Disruption is an opportunity… to advance value and make it easier for patients and families.”

Jason Spring, chief strategic officer for Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare and a member of the AHA Board of Trustees, said, “Our DNA as hospitals is to be ready. We know how to adapt and be creative.”

Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala, founder and CEO of access.mobile, a digital health company that promotes patient engagement among underserved populations, spoke with Priya Bathija, vice president at the AHA, about patient engagement, stressing that “engagement strategies have to be personalized to the community.”

Marie Cleary-Fishman, AHA vice president for clinical quality, moderated a panel with leaders from The John A. Hartford Foundation and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago about their journey to become Age-Friendly Health Systems, a movement to improve care and value for older patients.