More than 70 Adventist hospitals and more than 300 affiliated health-care facilities across 17 states and the District of Columbia have collaborated to form the Adventist Health Policy Association. AHPA creates a united policy voice among Adventist hospitals on issues affecting health care across the nation.
AHPA was formally announced in January to help ensure existing and new federal legislation, policy and regulations allow AHPA members to fulfill their goal of accessible, high-quality health care. One early goal will be to help improve national policy on preventive health care.
“Seventh-day Adventist hospitals represent a major sector of the U.S. health system,” says Larry Mitchel, Adventist Health director of government relations. “Working together on key policy issues is crucial in this era of health reform. AHPA will help us do this and represent our distinctive mission.”
AHPA leadership has been meeting informally for almost a year. The group has submitted comments on key health reform elements. AHPA’s founding members operate hospitals, home-health agencies, nursing centers, outpatient centers, physician practices and related health-care entities. The founding members are: Adventist Health, headquartered in Roseville, Calif., includes 17 hospitals, 62 outpatient centers, 32 rural-health clinics, 14 home-health agencies and four joint-venture retirement centers. Locations are in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii;
Adventist Health System, headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., includes 42 hospitals, 87 outpatient centers, 11 home-health agencies and 18 nursing homes as well as a college of health sciences. Locations are in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado and Wisconsin;
Adventist HealthCare, headquartered in Rockville, Md., includes seven hospitals and an assisted-living facility. Locations are in New Jersey, Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area;
Kettering Adventist Healthcare, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, includes seven hospitals, 60 outpatient centers and the Kettering College of Medical Arts, which serves 11 counties across the greater Dayton region;
Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, headquartered in Loma Linda, Calif., includes seven hospitals, seven outpatient facilities and the Loma Linda University Medical School.
“AHPA will add another voice to the national health reform dialogue — a formal voice that will leverage the strength of our association and our shared goals,” Mitchel says. “It will allow us to have strong input into the policy issues important to our nation’s ever-changing health-care system.”
The Association has received 501(c) 6, or non-profit trade association, status. Initial staff support is provided by the Adventist Health System. For more information, go to www.adventisthealthpolicy.org.
Adventist Health Policy Association covers hospitals across the nation.
