About Us
Advocacy
Championing our communities
As part of our mission and vision, Adventist Health partners with community leaders, organizations and media outlets to drive policies that ensure equity, patient rights, and access to quality care across all the communities we serve — rural and urban. Our public affairs team spearheads this work through education, public relations, coalitions, and regular meetings with policymakers.
Policy priorities
In 2024, we focused on five priorities to support our patients and communities.
Address the healthcare workforce crisis
- Support policies that address healthcare workforce shortages through growth and pipeline programs, specifically in rural and underserved areas
- Advocate for the expansion of scope of practice for health care professionals and reduce the barriers to licensure in multiple states
- Continuous discussion and forward movement for decreasing workplace violence through staff protections
Sustain and enhance the safety-net
- Advocate for fair and adequate Medicaid and Medicare payments and coverage to protect and provide care for our most vulnerable populations
- Preserve supplemental funding like Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation to continue providing necessary care to populations like rural communities
- Protect 340B to ensure necessary care for uninsured patients and community health programs are sustainable
Improve access and sustainability
- Promote integrated, comprehensive strategies to reform care delivery and payment to bring down the cost to health systems and improve the wellbeing of our communities
- Support policies that make care more accessible and sustainable leading to adequate medical care for all individuals
- Remove barriers to integration and clinical networks of care to create better patient experience and effectively utilize resources
Improve community health and equity
- Advocate for whole person care including ensuring our communities have equitable opportunities not only for healthcare, but to housing, education, and other needs
- Focus on minimizing social determinants of health so patients need to overcome less challenges
- Improve mental health access
Preserving rural health
- Protect and ensure access to healthcare services including critical access hospitals to continue providing care in rural communities
- Stabilize and expand rural health clinics to increase access to our rural patients where we are often the only source of primary care in their communities
- Promote new rural health models that ensure financial sustainability
