Hospitals Beyond the Walls: Advancing Community Health

Summary

Advancing Health Podcast: Hospitals Beyond the Walls—Advancing Community Health
American Hospital Association | Episode Date: March 4, 2026
Host: Tom Headerly | Guest: Doug Brown

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Episode Overview

This episode explores how hospitals are moving "beyond their walls" to partner with community organizations, addressing the broader factors that determine health outcomes. It centers on the Foster G. McGaw Prize, awarded by the American Hospital Association (AHA) to recognize hospitals that demonstrate genuine, long-term, and collaborative community health efforts. Doug Brown, chair of the Foster G. McGaw Prize Committee, discusses the history, criteria, and inspiring examples of hospitals making a transformative impact on their communities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Foster G. McGaw Prize: History and Purpose

[00:41–02:45]

• Founded in 1986 in honor of Foster McGaw, a healthcare industry pioneer and philanthropist.
• Created through collaboration between the Baxter Foundation and AHA after Baxter International acquired the American Hospital Supply Company.
• Awarded to hospitals that excel in “innovative ways of getting outside its walls to improving the health and well-being of its community.”
• Seeks to recognize hospitals as integral elements of their communities, often being the largest local employers.

Quote:
“What is the prize for? Basically awarded to an outstanding hospital in the country that distinguishes itself through innovative ways of getting outside its walls to improving the health and well-being of its community.”
— Doug Brown [02:22]

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2. Hospitals & Community Partnerships: Expanding Impact

[02:45–04:44]

• Hospital care within facilities accounts for only ~20% of health outcomes; the remaining ~80% is tied to “social drivers of health.”
• Examples of social drivers: economic status, education, neighborhood safety, access to healthy food, built environment.
• Hospitals foster community health by:
  • Addressing food insecurity with "food as medicine" initiatives.
  • Hiring from vulnerable communities to improve economic mobility.
  • Building playgrounds, community centers, and improving walkability.

Quote:
“80% of what makes up a human being’s health has to do with what is called social drivers of health.”
— Doug Brown [03:17]

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3. What Makes a Winning Hospital Application?

[05:00–06:17]

• Authenticity: Actions driven by genuine commitment, not publicity or marketing.
• Collaboration: Hospitals acting as conveners, doing things ‘with’ rather than ‘for’ the community.
• Innovation: Trying new approaches to community engagement.
• Long-term Dedication: Sustained track records are favored.
• Willingness to take risks and stretch the concept of “health care” beyond traditional boundaries.

Quote:
“We like to see hospitals that don’t look at themselves as the all-knowing partner...but rather as a convener...to really work together on improving health and well-being in that community.”
— Doug Brown [05:41]

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4. Standout Community Health Initiatives & Memorable Moments

[06:30–09:44]

• The 2026 winner will be announced at the AHA Leadership Summit in Denver (July).
• Committee conducts on-site visits, involving the community directly in the review process.
• Notable examples:
  • Adaptive sports programs for children with severe physical limitations—enabling them to ski, rock climb, and more.
  • Teen clinical rotations to foster interest in healthcare careers and provide mentorship.
  • Built environment enhancements, like wayfinding systems for rural trails and community-designed playgrounds.
  • Community art projects featuring consequential local figures in public murals.

Quote:
“This allows them to actually ski downhill, to engage in rock climbing and to do water skiing, all with the help of the staff. Makes a huge difference in the lives of these children.”
— Doug Brown, on adaptive sports programs [07:28]

Memorable Moment:
The committee's 7,000-mile journey and “seven-hour bus ride” for on-site visits, highlighting the commitment to thorough, hands-on evaluation. [06:43]

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5. Traits of Exceptional Community-Focused Hospitals

[09:44–12:45]

• Excellence in financial management, but with a mission-driven, community-ownership mindset ("stakeholders, not shareholders").
• Deeply embedded philosophy that health care extends beyond the hospital—“inextricably linked with our communities.”
• Site visits for prize finalists are profoundly motivating for all involved.
• Benefits of being a finalist: $10,000 prize, a professional video, a highlighted brochure. Winner receives $100,000 for further community projects.

Quote:
“Nonprofit hospitals…they have stakeholders, not shareholders. So they are literally owned by the community. They are community resources.”
— Doug Brown [10:40]

Quote:
“We can spot when an organization really has it, you know, deeply ingrained into their bones. And that’s what we’re trying to inspire others to emulate.”
— Doug Brown [11:25]

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6. Application & Inspiration

[12:45–13:19]

• Call to hospitals to consider applying for this recognition.
• Application info: www.aha.org/FosterMcGaw

Quote:
“Well, I hope our discussion has convinced a few people to think about applying if they haven’t before...”
— Tom Headerly [12:45]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “80% of what makes up a human being’s health has to do with what is called social drivers of health.” — Doug Brown [03:17]
• “We like to see hospitals that don’t look at themselves as the all-knowing partner...but rather as a convener...” — Doug Brown [05:41]
• “This allows them to actually ski downhill, to engage in rock climbing and to do water skiing, all with the help of the staff.” — Doug Brown [07:28]
• “Nonprofit hospitals…they have stakeholders, not shareholders. So they are literally owned by the community.” — Doug Brown [10:40]
• “We can spot when an organization really has it…deeply ingrained into their bones. And that’s what we’re trying to inspire others to emulate.” — Doug Brown [11:25]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:41] Introduction to the Foster G. McGaw Prize
• [02:45] Social determinants of health and partnership examples
• [05:00] Prize criteria: authenticity, collaboration, innovation
• [06:30] Inspiring real-world examples from finalists
• [09:44] Defining traits of exemplary hospitals
• [12:45] Application info and closing thoughts

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This episode provides both inspiration and practical examples for hospitals seeking to deepen their community impact—emphasizing humility, authentic engagement, and the importance of addressing the social realities that shape health outside traditional clinical settings.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Advancing Health. Every day, hospitals across America are taking a journey together with community partners that enrich and advance health. These inspiring collaborations are what the American Hospital association honors each year with its Foster Jima Gau Prize. Hi, everyone. I'm Tom Headerly, senior communications specialist with the American Hospital association. And I'm very pleased to welcome today Doug Brown of partner with Manat Health in Boston, a former AHA Board of Trustees member and the current chair of the American Hospital Association's Foster G. McGaugh Prize Committee. Doug, thanks so much for joining me on Advancing Health today.

[B]

My pleasure, Tom. Good to be here.

[A]

You know, The Foster G. McGaugh Prize probably doesn't have the fame that the Nobel Prize does. So for the uninitiated, tell me a little bit about what the prize is, why it was created and designed to honor.

[B]

Well, we're on a quest to make it as famous as the Nobel Prize. So thank you for the. Thank you for the question. So it goes back to 1986 when it was founded. So this will be the 40th year of the prize. And it was founded after an amazing individual by the name of Foster McGaugh who started the American Hospital Supply Company in 1922, which is about the same time my grandfather started a paper business on the North Shore of Boston. So it has a special place in my heart. That company, Foster McGaws, went on to be one of the largest companies in the country and set the standard for the hospital supply industry. It was characterized by high quality standards and high ethical standards. And Foster Magae became a very noted philanthropist in many different communities. And in 1986, when he died, the Baxter foundation, the Baxter International, had acquired the American Hospital Supply Company in 1985. And the Baxter foundation and the American Hospital association got together to develop this prize in his honor for all that he believed in. And it's been going strong for 40 years. So what is the prize for? Basically awarded to an outstanding hospital in the country that distinguish itself through innovative ways of getting outside its walls to improving the health and well being of its community. You know, hospitals are so incredibly linked with their communities. They're very often the largest employers. And we want to acknowledge and award the great work that hospitals are doing in their communities. And that's what this is all about.

[A]

The ultimate goal, I guess, of any hospital, collaboration with a community organization is to improve patient care and advance health overall. What are some of the kinds of things that a hospital can do better working in tandem with a community organization than it can do on Its own.

[B]

Yeah, well, it's a great question, Tom. And I think people often don't appreciate that the great care that hospitals provide inside their walls make up only about 20% of our health right now. When we need it, it's critically important. But 80% of what makes up a human being's health has to do with what is called social drivers of health. And those are all the things that happen outside of hospital walls, like your economic level, your education level, the built environment in your community, whether they're a walkable path, the safety of your neighborhood, your access to healthy food. And so, because hospitals are focused on improving the health of their communities, they're increasingly understanding that it's necessary for hospitals not only to provide great care when patients need it, but to get outside their walls and address these social drivers of health. And that's exactly what these innovative hospitals are doing. They are addressing the built environment by working with community to build playgrounds and community gathering centers. They're addressing food insecurity by developing food as medicine programs. They're helping vulnerable communities navigate the system. And they're doing things like looking to particular aspects of that community that have been left behind in terms of economic development and have become incredibly socially vulnerable. And they're hiring from those communities and giving individuals jobs and opportunity for economic mobility, which at the end of the day is probably the single biggest driver of someone's health.

[A]

Yeah, there are some amazing examples of innovation and creativity in play across the country right now. There are so many great examples of work going on. I know there were a significant number of applicants for our 2026 prize this year. What does the committee look for?

[B]

So we look for a number of things, and you're right, there are a number of great hospitals doing great things. But I think what we look for most is authenticity. We want to see hospitals that aren't necessarily doing this for marketing purposes or to get headlines, but because they authentically and genuinely believe in improving the health of their communities. We like to see a long standing track record of having done this for a long time. We like to see hospitals that don't look at themselves as the all knowing partner who will come and do things for a community, but rather as a convener, as an entity that looks to do things with the community, to collaborate, to get the community's ideas and to really work together on improving health and wellbeing in that community. And I think we like to see innovation. We want to see organizations that are kind of leaning into trying new and different ways of engaging and connecting with their community and be willing to take risk and make a commitment to reaching out and helping health in a way that is not as traditionally thought of.

[A]

Totally makes sense. You've touched on this already. But I was just thinking, as you lead the committee in reviewing these applications, what are some of the examples that you have seen in the, in the review process that really leap out at you?

[B]

Yeah, we're not ready to announce this year's winners. They will be, it's under lock and seal. They'll be announced in July at the American Hospital Association's Leadership Summit, which is in Denver this year. And there will be one winner announced. But we also celebrate the finalists. There will be three other finalists. All were outstanding. And I would tell you, we visited these organizations in October and we have an incredible committee made up of some of the best and brightest minds in healthcare in terms of community health from great organizations. And we crisscrossed the country this year, did site visits. I think we traveled 7,000 miles, hit four cities, we took a seven hour bus ride. And it's some of the best work I do. I have to say, I absolutely love it. It's so inspiring. And it's inspiring because we sit with a half a day and we hear from the organization and most importantly, we hear from the community. Groups show up, they talk to us from their perspective of what the hospital is doing, what it means to them as individuals and as members of the community. And you know, I'll just say, Tom, that, you know, hospital employees are beleaguered these days. It's a really tough time to be in healthcare. And I think we often forget that Hospitals continue to do amazing things that don't necessarily get headlines, that don't necessarily get much fanfare, but are critical for turning around communities. So this year we saw some great examples. One hospital developed this adaptive sports program for children with very severe physical limitations that normally couldn't participate in activities. And this allows them to actually ski downhill, to engage in rock climbing and to do water skiing, all with the help of the staff. Makes a huge difference in the lives of these children. Another hospital we visited basically established a program for, for teens to do clinical rotations in the hospital, to meet with staff, to talk to them, to hear about their stories, to observe surgeries, and to develop some of the soft skills that are necessarily to make them future leaders in healthcare. Another one we visited really focused on the built environment, knowing that it has a huge impact on health. Whether people can get outside and walk and experience nature is a huge factor in in their health. And this particular hospital was in a rural community with a lot of outdoor nature trails. And they created a whole way finding system for their outdoor trails to make them easier and more accessible for members of the community. They also engaged children in designing and building a new playground so that they could actually get ideas from children and what would be best, which we thought was so innovative. And they've developed an amazing art program and they're community that features consequential men and women throughout history in their community in big murals. To kind of lift up these stories for the community are just a few of the examples we saw this year. I could go on and on. There are so many great stories, but those are just a few of the types of things we see in these organizations.

[A]

You know, I was just thinking, I think every hospital wants to be a cornerstone of their community through strategic collaborations with community organizations. And I wonder what are some of the characteristics of those hospitals that do it best?

[B]

Yeah, that's a great question. And I think what I see, Tom, and you know, I spent 20 years at an academic medical center before coming to my current job as a partner of man at Health. And I now work with academic medical centers and hospitals around the country. And I think though the issue that I see most often is that it's just such a tough environment. And when, when it does get tough and it's. No one can fault an organization for kind of like narrowing your focus and really focusing on making ends meet and the bottom line. And so to me, what distinguishes the truly great organizations are those that do that well. I mean, no margin, no mission. So you have to run and operate things well, but have this deep ethic of understanding that nonprofit hospitals, they have stakeholders, not shareholders. So they are literally owned by the community. They are community resources and they make it as part of their reason for being. It becomes a philosophy of the organization that we are deeply committed not only to provide outstanding care for patients who come in our doors, but also to address all people outside our doors and in our communities to help focus on their well being and their health and that we are inextricably linked with our communities. You know it when you see it. As I say, we have these amazing site visits, we see great things, but we can spot when an organization really has it, you know, deeply ingrained into their bones. And that's what we're trying to inspire others to emulate. And, and that's what we're trying to award. I should mention that there are great benefits to winning this prize or to just being a finalist, frankly. You know, if you're a finalist, you get a site visit. And you know, when I was at UMass Memorial, we were a finalist like two or three times. We never won it. But I'll tell you, those site visits were some of the best times we had board members come, and it's a way that the organization can actually hear from the community all the great things they're doing. So it's a little bit of a revival feeling, and that in and of itself is tremendously rewarding for organizations. But if you're a finalist, you get a $10,000 prize. You get a video made that is shown at the AHA Leadership Summit, you have a beautiful brochure made highlighting your accomplishments. And if you are the ultimate winner, the prize is $100,000 to commit to your community in whatever way you choose. So there are really some nice benefits that both Baxter and the AHA have put toward this to really acknowledge and recog this greatness in community health.

[A]

Well, I hope our discussion has convinced a few people to think about applying if they haven't before, and hopefully drive applications for this prestigious honor. And so the place to start to do that would be to visit the website at www.aha.org FosterMcGaw and that's one word. Foster McGaw. Doug, thank you so much for walking us through the process for chairing the prize committee and for all you do to call out the phenomenal work that goes on among hospital collaborating with our community partners each day. Really appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

[B]

My pleasure. Tom, thanks so much for having me.

[A]

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