A Movement Begins: West Health and AHA unite to launch a national Accelerator. Read more.
The West Health Accelerator at the American Hospital Association’s Health Research & Educational Trust is a national collaboration dedicated to supporting hospitals and health systems in operationalizing effective technologies across care environments to improve patient outcomes and support care teams.
We work alongside hospitals to align innovation with implementation so that promising approaches become consistent, systemwide practice.
The Accelerator takes a vendor-neutral approach, prioritizing what works in practice rather than promoting specific vendors or products.
Health care continues to evolve rapidly, and organizations are increasingly focused on how to apply emerging capabilities in ways that are disciplined, sustainable and grounded in real-world operations.
Our mission is to support hospitals and health systems in adopting and scaling technology-enabled solutions that strengthen care delivery, improve quality and safety, and enhance outcomes that matter to patients and their families. We do this by combining applied evidence, implementation support and shared learning across various hospital settings.
Our vision is a health care system where effective technologies are easier to adopt, easier to scale and easier to sustain – so that patients consistently experience safe care, wherever they receive it.
The American Hospital Association represents and serves hospitals and health systems nationwide. Founded in 1898, the AHA brings together nearly 5,000 hospitals and health systems and more than 43,000 individual members.
The Health Research & Educational Trust, founded in 1944, is the AHA’s not-for-profit research and education affiliate focused on improving care delivery through applied research.
Through the Accelerator, AHA and HRET combine national reach and trusted leadership to support hospitals in addressing complex safety, quality and operational challenges.
West Health is a family of nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations focused on advancing innovation in health care delivery. Founded by entrepreneurs and philanthropists Gary and Mary West, the organization reflects a long-standing commitment to strengthening health systems through disciplined investment and innovation.
Through applied research, clinical innovation and accelerator initiatives, West Health partners with health systems to identify, test and scale technology-enabled solutions that address complex, real-world challenges in care delivery.
Its work spans research, policy and investment, with a focus on moving effective ideas into routine practice and expanding their impact nationally. West Health has invested more than $600 million in initiatives designed to accelerate innovation and improve care quality.
Gary and Mary West are entrepreneurs and philanthropists who have focused their efforts on strengthening the U.S. health care system through innovation, research and strategic investment.
In 2006, they established the Gary and Mary West Foundation, followed by the West Health Institute and the West Health Policy Center. Together, these organizations form West Health, advancing practical, scalable solutions that improve care delivery.
Their vision continues to shape West Health’s work, bringing together applied research, policy expertise and real-world implementation to accelerate innovations that can benefit patients and health systems nationwide.
The Accelerator advances implementation through structured programs that support validation, refinement and systemwide integration of technology-enabled solutions.
Beacon sites are hospitals and health systems implementing solutions in real-world environments.
These organizations serve as demonstration hubs, generating measurable results and sharing practical lessons learned. Insights from beacon sites help validate the solutions featured in the Accelerator and inform best practices that can be adopted by hospitals nationwide.
The Accelerator’s champions network includes health care leaders who are embedding technology solutions into clinical and operational workflows.
Champions include clinicians, quality leaders, informatics experts and operational leaders with hands-on implementation experience. Through peer learning, coaching and knowledge sharing, champions help guide other organizations in adopting and sustaining effective solutions.
Learning collaboratives bring hospitals together to focus on the full lifecycle of implementation.
Built across priority domains including artificial intelligence, EHR optimization and virtual care, the collaboratives offer training, technical assistance and performance improvement support. Hospitals participating in collaboratives learn from experts and peers while tracking progress and outcomes over time.
The Accelerator is led by a multidisciplinary team with experience in patient safety, clinical operations, informatics, research and change management. Our team works directly with hospital leaders and teams to ensure that solutions are feasible, scalable and aligned with operational realities.
Director of Funded Partnerships at AHA
Senior Research Analyst at West Health
President of the Health Research & Educational Trust and Chief Physician Executive and Senior Vice President at AHA
Senior Director of Digital Health at West Health
Executive Director at West Health
Vice President of the Health Research & Educational Trust at AHA
The future of care will be shaped by how quickly proven technologies are adopted and scaled. Join leaders across the country who are committed to translating innovation into reliable, systemwide improvement.