News

The latest revisions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement program underscore the integral role of board members in advancing quality improvement initiatives, writes Sue Ellen Wagner, AHA’s vice president of trustee engagement and strategy.

Crysta Meekins, a program manager for AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, shares four takeaways on how to provide equitable, culturally competent and interdisciplinary maternal care to women of color from discussions at a recent screening of “Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story,” a short educational film about racism, toxic stress and birth outcomes.

Michael Warren, M.D., associate administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, discusses why the agency launched the hotline last Mother’s Day and how it provides confidential support to pregnant and new mothers who call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA.

The Food and Drug Administration Nov. 9 cleared for marketing the Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test, the first COVID-19 antigen test and second COVID-19 at-home test to successfully complete traditional premarket review.

For nearly 250 years, our courageous and selfless veterans have stood up for the nation’s defense, protecting their countrymen and America’s founding ideals at great personal cost.

Laurens Sartoris, who served as president of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association for 27 years, died Oct. 31 at age 78.

AHA Nov. 9 released a social media toolkit and graphics to help hospitals and health systems celebrate National Rural Health Day Nov. 16 and highlight through the week the unique challenges facing rural communities.

The AHA, AHIP, Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente have formed a coalition that will recommend strategies to strengthen coordination between the health care and public health systems to improve emergency preparedness, address health disparities and detect infectious diseases.

Fewer than one in four health care professionals working in acute care hospitals and nursing homes were up to date with COVID-19 vaccination during the 2022-23 flu season, defined as receiving a bivalent booster dose or completing a primary series in the previous two months, and fewer than half of nursing home workers had received a flu vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Nov. 9. 

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) this week alerted the sector to a new ransomware threat known as BlackSuit, which may be responsible for an October attack against an organization that provides medical scans and radiology services for almost 1,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems and caused the victim to shut down computer systems and turn away patients.

The Food and Drug Administration has recognized a consensus standard to help medical device makers address cybersecurity concerns.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nov. 8 began displaying its “birthing friendly” hospital designation on Medicare’s Care Compare website and through a new mapping tool.

Two maternal health experts explore common disparities and systemic barriers Indigenous people experience in pregnancy and postpartum, and ways hospitals and health care organizations can combat these challenges to provide culturally-focused care.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing Nov. 8 on policy consideration for artificial intelligence in health care.

In a 26-0 vote, the Senate Finance Committee Nov. 8 reported the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act, bipartisan legislation that includes AHA-supported provisions to improve access to behavioral health care and delay Medicaid disproportionate share hospital reductions.

The latest poster in AHA’s People Matter, Words Matter series focuses on using compassionate language when discussing maternal mental health.

The FBI Nov. 7 recommended organizations take certain steps to prevent ransomware actors from exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party and system management tools, an emerging trend.

Over 3,700 babies were born with syphilis in 2022, 32% more than in 2021 and 10 times more than in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Nov. 7.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nov. 6 proposed changes to the Medicare Advantage and prescription drug programs for contract year 2025 intended to improve access to behavioral health care; ensure that agents and brokers enroll individuals in the best plan for their needs and that MA plans offer appropriate supplemental benefits; streamline enrollment for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid; and annually review MA utilization management policies for health equity considerations.

AHA Nov. 7 reiterated its support for the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, bipartisan legislation reintroduced last week in the House and Senate that would recapture up to 40,000 unused employment visas — 25,000 for nurses and 15,000 for physicians.