AHA Board Chair Bluford Inducted

John W. Bluford was officially inducted as the chairman of the board of directors at the American Hospital Association on Sunday at the group's annual membership meeting in Washington, DC, the nation's largest hospital group announced.

Bluford, president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, MO, told colleagues that the effect of their leadership would be judged not only by the care administered inside their hospital walls, but also by the overall health of the communities they serve. "Your community has its own dynamics that create its own barriers – solid walls that stand between people and the health that will allow them to achieve their full potential," Bluford said. "Tearing down those walls will be painfully slow. But we will never get to the destination – if we don't start the journey."

Bluford assumed the AHA board chairmanship -- the organization's highest elected position -- in January and will serve a one-year term, AHA said.

Truman Medical Centers created a Passport to Wellness program that targets at-risk populations and their families for lifestyle changes to better manage their health and reduce hospital visits. The program uses guided protocols and team-oriented case management that includes physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers.

Since its inception, Passport to Wellness has seen: sickle cell readmissions fall by 26%; a 25% collective reduction in the number of asthma-related patient days; a 23% reduction in emergency department visits, Bluford said.

"Every community, from the most urban to the most rural, has social and health disparities," Bluford said. "It's our job to know our communities, our schools, our community gathering places, our churches, and in general the overall human circumstance of our neighborhoods so that we can address those disparities with passion."?

Bluford also urged his fellow hospital leaders not to overlook employee wellness and pointed to AHA's "A Call for Action: Creating a Culture of Health" report that provides a wide variety of creative programs from hospitals across the country.