Insights Sessions

Trustee Insights Session: Boards Addressing Social Needs and the Social Determinants of Health | 9:30 - 10:30 am

Priya Bathija, Vice President, The Value Initiative at American Hospital Association

Hospital and health system trustees are promoting value in their communities by partnering with a variety of stakeholders to tackle social factors that influence the health and well-being of their communities. A panel of trustees, moderated by Priya Bathija, vice president of AHA’s The Value Initiative, will discuss how their boards have made community health advancement a strategic priority for their organizations, and how they prioritize, collaborate, measure and fund these important efforts.

Trustee Insights Session: The Trustee’s Evolving Role in Quality and Safe | 10:45 - 11:45 am

Michelle Block Schreiber, MD, Director, Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group, CMS

David R. Wright, Director, Quality, Safety & Oversight Group, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS

Trustees play a key role in overseeing the quality and safety of the care provided in the hospitals and health systems they serve. But they may not be as clear about the expectations that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other oversight bodies have for how they carry out that role. Join CMS leadership, Michelle Block Schreiber, MD, director of the quality measurement and value-based incentives group, CMS and David R. Wright, director of quality, safety & oversight group, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS for a lively discussion of those expectations and how they are changing in light of the transforming health care environment. Time will be provided for questions.

Executive Insights Session: Advancing Better Health for Mothers and Babies | 2:00 - 3:15 pm

Roxie Wells M.D., AHA Board Member and President of Cape Fear Valley Hoke Healthcare

Maternal health, particularly eliminating maternal mortality and reducing severe morbidity, continues to be a top priority for hospitals and health systems. To improve health care for women and infants, it is critical that providers coordinate efforts across the continuum of care, from pre-conception up to one year after birth, and look to eradicate disparities in care. Join the discussion with moderator Roxie Wells M.D., AHA board member and president of Cape Fear Valley Hoke Healthcare, senior representatives from key federal agencies and policymakers to discuss federal efforts help address maternal health. Learn from hospitals actively working to improve maternal access to care, reduce disparities and improve health outcomes for expectant and new mothers and their babies.

Executive Insights Session: Evolving Post-acute Care: Hospital Partnerships | 2:00 - 3:15 pm

While hospitals have a growing awareness of the important role that post-acute services plays in an episode of care, there is still much to learn about how hospitals and post-acute care providers can partner in meaningful ways to improve outcomes and lower costs. This session highlights innovative ways to improve care transitions, case management, at-risk arrangements and post-acute networks to enhance the health of patients who require additional services following discharge from a hospital. The impact of recent post-acute payment reforms will also be explored.

Executive Insights Session: Strategic Cybersecurity and Risk Issues for Leadership | 2:00 - 3:15 pm

John Riggi, Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk at the American Hospital Association

Paul Abbate, Associate Deputy Director, FBI

Increasingly frequent cyber and ransomware attacks that target health care organizations are disrupting care delivery and forcing health care leaders to deal with foreign cyber criminals and spies. AHA's Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk, John Riggi, outlines the latest tactics of cyber adversaries and shares how the FBI and the AHA are working together to assist hospitals in preventing and responding to cyberattacks. Among other tips, attendees will understand their strategic cyber risk profiles and learn to decrease the risks of cyber-attacks.

Executive Insights Session: Building the Health Care Workforce of the Future | 3:30 - 4:45 pm

Cathy Jacobson, President and CEO, Froedtert Health and Chair of the AHA Task Force on the Changing Workforce

The health care workforce must rapidly evolve to keep pace with changing demographics, rapid technological advancements and health care cost pressures. Workforce structures must adapt to meet shifting consumer and workforce expectations and ensure a robust, qualified, culturally competent and skilled workforce in the future. Join Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO, Froedtert Health and chair of the AHA Task Force on the Changing Workforce, as leaders in the field discuss the innovative workforce strategies they are deploying to support their staff’s well-being, provide non-traditional professional development and advancement opportunities, and creatively build community-based workforce pipelines that expand economic opportunity.

Executive Insights Session: Enhancing Diversity in Leadership and Governance to Advance Health Equity | 3:30 - 4:45 pm

David Entwistle, AHA Board Member, President and CEO, Stanford Health Care

Kinneil Coltman, Senior Vice President, Chief Community and External Affairs, Atrium

Gene Woods, CEO, Atrium Health

Cassandra Willis Abner, Senior Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Experience Officer, Trinity Health

Michael Slublowski, CEO, Trinity Health

Hospitals and health systems increasingly embrace diversity and inclusion as core principles to reflect the communities they serve, and AHA strategic alliances are assisting with this significant evolution. This session features C-Suite executives in dialogue with one another on how their organizations are strategically advancing diversity and inclusion, how internal discussions prompted the actions, which methods work best and how success is being measured.

Moderated by AHA Board Member David Entwistle of Stanford Medicine, panelists include Kinneil Coltman, senior vice president, chief community and external affairs, Atrium; Gene Woods, CEO, Atrium Health; Cassandra Willis Abner, senior vice president, diversity and inclusion and chief experience officer at Trinity Health; Michael Slublowski, CEO, Trinity Health; and UNIDOS/NUL representatives. 

Executive Insights Session: Enhancing Value through Collaboration | 3:30 - 4:45 pm

Rod Hochman, M.D., AHA Chair-elect, President and CEO of Providence Health Services and AHA Chair-elect

During this fast-paced slam session, we will explore how hospitals are teaming up with non-traditional partners to develop creative solutions that improve outcomes, enhance the patient experience and lower costs. Join AHA Chair-elect Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Providence Health Services, and seven hospital and health system leaders as they share, in seven minutes or less, how their organizations are collaborating to redesign care delivery, introduce new products and services, or otherwise transform, all while increasing value for their patients and communities.

Executive Insights Session: Health Plan Oversight; What’s Needed Now | 10:45 am - 12:15 pm

Rob Casalou, AHA Board Member and Regional President and CEO at Trinity Health Michigan

Certain health plan utilization management techniques put patient access to care at risk while increasing burden and driving up costs to the health care system. These include inappropriately delays of prior authorization decisions, payment denials for medically necessary care, failure to maintain adequate provider networks, and unilateral changes in the rules for both patients and providers. These actions contribute to hundreds of billions of dollars in administrative waste and put patients at risk of not accessing the care and coverage to which they are entitled. This session, moderated by Rob Casalou, AHA board member and regional president and CEO at Trinity Health Michigan, explores policy solutions to ensure appropriate oversight of health plans.

Executive Insights Session: Improving the Patient Experience with Health Care Pricing and Billing | 10:45 am - 12:15 pm

Dennis Murphy, President and CEO of Indiana University Health and Chair of the AHA Price Transparency Task force

Hospital and health system pricing and billing have been the focus of significant media attention, with national news stories focused on the detrimental effect of certain practices on patients. Policymakers are looking to improve the patient experience by advancing health care pricing and billing transparency. At the same time, hospitals and health systems are investing in innovative technologies and organizational change to better serve patients’ financial needs. This session, moderated by Dennis Murphy, president and CEO of Indiana University Health and chair of the AHA Price Transparency Taskforce, explores hospital-led efforts to create patient-friendly billing and improve access to out-of-pocket cost information.

Executive Insights Session: Innovative Thinking in Rural Health Care | 10:45 am - 12:15 pm

Kris Doody, President and CEO of Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Maine, and Chair of the AHA Future of Rural Health Care Task Force

Rural hospitals are seeking ways to innovate and transform themselves in order to overcome the challenges they face while also maintaining access to health care in their communities. This session, moderated by Kris Doody, president and CEO of Cary Medical Center, and chair of the AHA Future of Rural Health Care Task Force, will describe opportunities for rural provider transformation and highlight emerging strategies from policymakers and the field that demonstrate creativity and innovative thinking in rural health care settings.