This document outlines a community initiative in which regulatory and legislative agencies are educated on the services a hospital provides to the community. This document was prepared for the Community Organizer at Paoli Hospital.

1. AHA Community Connections
An Initiative Overview
Michael Floriani
3/18/2010

2. Abstract
American Hospital Association provides a means for communicating the value of hospitals within their
communities. This document details the AHA’s Community Connections initiative and its applicability to
ongoing hospital community involvement.
Program Overview
The purpose of the American Hospital Association’s Community Connections initiative was established to
educate a wide array of regulatory and legislative audiences on the services hospitals provide within
their respective communities. Primarily, it provides these audiences with what hospitals are doing as
“good stewards” at the local and state level. Furthermore, the program initiative provides hospitals with
a means of supporting documentation to retain tax‐exempt status in preparation of IRS Form 990
(Schedule H) and in establishing organizational transparency as organizations receive greater scrutiny as
tax‐exempt entities under section 501(c)(3).
As part of the Community Connections initiative, the Hospitals in Action program is targeted at legislative
and regulatory constituents and is not focused on educating the general public to the community
involvement of local hospitals. This is due to the nature of where information resides on AHA’s website
– a location not generally available or intuitively available to the public.
The Hospitals in Action allows hospitals to record their community involvement on AHA’s website. This
is done by completing the following web form at www.caringforcommunities.org.
Required information includes a name, organization name and e‐mail address. The subject within the
form is called “Tell Us Your Story”. Within this website are case examples to assist hospitals in
developing their stories. These cases are divided into the following four categories:
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Social and Basic Needs
Health Promotion
Access and Coverage
Quality of Life
Awards
Although the AHA Community Connections does not qualify hospitals for awards, the American Hospital
Association annually awards $100,000 to hospitals for community involvement through the following
two key award programs:
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AHA Nova Award
The American Hospital Association Nova Award honors healthcare facilities that provide
effective collaboration programs focused on improving community health status.
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The Foster G. McGaw Prize
The Foster G. McGaw Prize was created to recognize hospitals that have distinguished
themselves through efforts to improve the health and well‐being of others in the community.
Applications for the awards are reviewed by American Hospital Association staff and go through a
rigorous selection process before on‐site hospital visits are made by AHA staff to identify award winners
and finalists.
In 2009, Lancaster General Hospital became a finalist for the Foster G. McGaw Prize for activities
associated with local community involvement and received a $10,000 award. This finalist recognition
was received for the hospital’s following initiatives:
• Ensuring Access through Innovative Outreach – Through a network of community clinics and
organizational partners, LG Health extended access to primary, prevention and acute care services
for more than 85,000 low‐income people annually.
• Building Healthy Communities by Taking Care of Mothers and Children – LG Health provided
specialty obstetrics/gynecology services and implemented evidence‐based programs to give more
than 1,500 low‐income mothers and children great starts in life each year.
• Building Healthy Communities by Building Education – Working with various partners, LG Health
created secondary and post‐secondary educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged
children and adults to academically prepare them to succeed in the healthcare workforce.
• Building Healthy Lifestyles Through Healthy Weight Management – Partnering with local schools,
community groups, and city and county government, LG Health helped build healthy habits and
lifestyles that reduce the upward trends of obesity.
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4. • Building a Healthy Lancaster City Through Community and Economic Development – LG Health
worked with partners to create livable‐wage jobs and build healthy and safe neighborhoods to help
people flourish.
Conclusion
The AHA provides healthcare organizations with a medium to communicate community initiatives and
recognizes those that creatively and effectively offer community outreach and service programs that
make enormous differences in people’s lives.
The Community Connections initiative was created to allow healthcare organizations to publicize their
involvement in an environment where questions are being raised by governmental and media agencies
about mission and community services. Community Connections, it is hoped, is an effective way to show
the value of hospitals beyond their traditional boundaries.
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