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AHA endorsement begins with the identification of hospitals’ most significant market challenges.
Insurance, data-driven services and management software comprise the bulk of the 32 “solutions” endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA). Among the field, only one company, Vestagen Protective Technologies Inc. of Orlando, Fla., manufactures textile products.
In 2015, the AHA issued an endorsement of Vestagen’s VESTEX® garments for health care workers and published a four-page “Why We Endorse VESTEX” brochure. “It’s been a tremendous boost from a credibility standpoint, because the AHA is a recognized brand in the health care community,” says Marc Lessem, Vestagen’s senior vice president of marketing. “We are trying to establish a new standard [for health care worker safety], and certainly having AHA endorsement has a halo effect for us.”
AHA endorsement follows a rigorous process that begins with the identification of hospitals’ most significant market challenges and ends with the selection of the solution that best addresses them. The process begins when AHA Solutions, an AHA subsidiary, issues a request for information open to all companies to submit their solution for consideration. AHA Solutions narrows the field to the top candidates for endorsement consideration.
Finalists are selected based on the quality of the solution submitted and its effectiveness in addressing the identified challenge, the financial stability and long-term viability of the company, and references. After in-person presentations, reference checks, and thorough review, AHA Solutions awards the endorsement. It then works with the organization to educate member hospitals on the challenge at hand and how the endorsed solution can effectively address it. At the same time, AHA Solutions works with the company’s vendors to help better address hospital challenges, overcome obstacles, and deliver more efficient and higher-quality care.
For more information, visit aha-solutions.org.
Janice Kleinschmidt is a writer and magazine editor based in San Diego, Calif.