Stakeholders Roles and Strategic Goals: American Heart Association

Organization Description
The American Heart Association is the oldest, and the most robust organization in the U.S. focused on fighting stroke and heart disease. It is the brainchild of six cardiologists who started it in 1924. AHA now has a membership of over 22.5 million supporters and volunteers ("About Us," 2020). The organization funds research and lobbies for the improvement of policies in the public health sector. They also avail the needed information to save lives. Our shared interest in cardiovascular health matters brings together over 33 million volunteers and over 3, 400 staff ("About Us," 2020). The organization relocated their headquarters from New York to Dallas state in 1975. They wanted it to be in a central location for ease of reach and coordination. The American Stroke Association is an offshoot of the AHA, and was created in 1997 to harmonize the organization's stroke health activities. They offer the public information relating to their health status. They take the lead in CPR training initiatives ("About Us," 2020). They provide useful information on healthy lifestyles and encourage people to adopt the same. Healthcare professionals also gain from the information given by the organization in the course of healthcare provision to their patients. They educate other professionals on the need for a concerted effort for better localities.
Mission
To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives
Stakeholders
The stakeholders of the American Heart Association incorporate donors, volunteers, and researchers.
The role of the researchers cannot be overemphasized in AHA. They are the source of new knowledge relating to cardiovascular health. The research program run by AHA is informed by 12 tenets. These were crafted by a board that constituted key stakeholders of the organization. The researchers are charged with a responsibility to share what they unravel for the improvement of AHA services and society's well-being.
AHA depends on donors. The same donors extend their assistance in strengthening the organization's ability to manage its funds effectively as a result of five factors. Allowing donors to control the money gives them power. They influence the workings of AHA, and, thus, bring forth important roles.
The organization depends on the talent and time donated by volunteers to promote a healthy world that is free from stroke and heart diseases. The volunteer teams make sure that AHA only works to meet the needs of communities. It also makes sure that the organization remains in the limelight for support from the government and the public in general. They create the ground for effective fundraising.
Short-term goals (1–4 years)
To promote cardiovascular health of all American citizens by 20% and reduce deaths occurring by the same diseases by 20%
To encourage partners and communities to embrace a well-being mindset and equity in pursuing a lifestyle that is healthy as their goal
Mid-terms goals (5–14 years)
To increase healthy life expectancy equitably beyond what is projected at the moment, i.e., 66 years to 8 at the very least for America and from 64 to at least 67 globally ("About Us," 2020)
Long-term goals (15–20 years)
To engage and encourage partners to promote equity and well-being inclusion in all policies, promote planning and investment in the course of life, while focusing on upstream indicators of health. These determiners include toxic stress reduction interventions in children and pursuing strategies that ensure sustainability through cash flows in communities with high population densities and living in poverty.
To support anti-segregation policies
To measure the drivers of a sound life expectancy and well-being through the community volunteers and avail the data to the communities.
To encourage the communities to gauge the effectiveness of their strategies on well-being, drivers of life expectancy, and encourage the improvement of strategies that yield better results in life expectancy, equity, and well-being (Angell et al., 2020).
• Select and explain your role as a stakeholder, including why this organization is important to you both personally and professionally.
Available data reveals that at present, one in three adults lives with at least one type of cardiovascular complication (Mozaffarian et al., 2016). Apart from the fact that they are number 1 and 6 in the causes of death, heart disease and stroke lead to health problems such as poor quality of life, disability, and loss of billions of dollars through economic costs annually. The disease burden for cardiovascular issues is spread across the population disproportionately. There are notable disparities based on race, gender, geographical location, and even economic status (Barr, 2016; Havranek et al., 2015; Lopez-Jimenez, 2012). These include
· Risk factor prevalence
· Access to healthcare
· Timely and appropriate treatment
· Mortality
· Treatment outcomes
My family has been affected by cardiovascular disease. Thus, nothing better than AHA could have happened in my life. I believe that the best way to tackle cardiovascular disease is through prevention. This prevention can be achieved through a well-being lifestyle approach. Consequently, I have volunteered to offer my services to AHA to bolster their efforts and specifically sensitize society how the predisposing factors that expose communities to cardiovascular disease can be avoided and or removed from their loves. The AHA supports medical research on cardiovascular disease, creates awareness about the disease, and directs its energies towards care and saving lives.
• Explain how you, in your role, will help to evaluate and revise the organization's strategic planning process. Include any potential legal implications of revising the organization's current strategic plan.
Volunteers are not paid, but they offer their skills and time for a cause (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). Being a volunteer empowers me with the privilege of information from the ground because I will be more of a frontline soldier for AHA. I take time to understand the society in which I live. I find out through our informal conversations what their concerns are about cardiovascular problems. The information I get is central to helping AHA improve its strategies to tackle cardiovascular problems in society. It is also important for the AHA to review its community engagement approaches to incorporate information that volunteers collect from the field.
Since volunteer engagement exists alongside the operations of the organization and the community, there is a need to involve the community in the current strategic plan. A key point when thinking about initiatives for community engagement is to consider what should be done to achieve the mission of the organization (Rehnborg & Moore, 2012, 16). Such a question will ensure that volunteer work fits in the plan by the organization to move forward. Furthermore, the question helps the volunteers who wish to know whether their input makes a difference or not. When they know that their contribution is helping the organization achieve its objectives, they are fulfilled and deliver more.
The moment AHA has set its mind on achieving their goals, any of the methods listed below can enrich the team planning to action to create a clear and specific objective and vision for volunteer service.
Brainstorming
The process involving a group allows for a collection of ideas that help the community in attaining its goals. The primary rule in the brainstorming tactic is that all views are given due consideration. The members of the planning team should be open-minded and understand that volunteers can do much more than the planners can tell.
Visual "mapping."
In a similar way to brainstorming, the team can develop a visual map of how the volunteers will operate and what they will achieve in a specified period (Rehnborg & Moore, 2012). If the volunteers are provided with such a visual map, they can influence the course of strategic planning by outlining where the organization should begin to realize the desired outcome in future.
Needs analysis
The Need Overlap Analysis in the Helping (Scheier, 1975) process was developed by Dr. Ivan Scheier over 30nyears ago. It is still a highly helpful tool (Scheier, 1975) it starts with the head of the organization; staff compiles a list of each of the organization's total responsibilities and duties. After the completion of the task lists, each of the staff members creates a wish list of things they would want to do if resources and time allowed it (Rehnborg & Moore, 2012). Once the wish lists are filled, each member is allowed to go through the lists to pick out which of the wishes would help the organization through volunteer work. When interviews are conducted with likely volunteers, the lists can be extended to include skills, abilities, and the preferences of the volunteer.
• Explain at least three strategic goals that you would recommend for the organization, which will directly contribute to and affect positive social change.
i. Focus on Associations and health clubs
A consolidated focus on well-being and health encourages linkages through the various sectors and social situations. In other words, the efforts to save lives, promote well-being, prevent disability, are pursued alongside those to promote economic prosperity, a sense of purpose, belonging, and other strategies that promote well-being and productivity. Health clubs and associations will help AHA to reach out to a lot more people seeking to gain enhanced status of health in the USA. If the latter is achieved, AHA will reach out to more people and create exposure.
ii. Equity at the center
The cardiovascular disease burden is clearly disproportionately spread across the U.S. There are disparities informed by gender, age, ethnicity/race, geographic location and socioeconomic standing (Barr, 2016). AHA must, however, make sure that its operations are equitable in approach and outcome. Everyone must be granted a fair chance to succeed. A lot more can be achieved about expanding healthcare and general well-being if stakeholders are made to feel that they belong and that they have a stake in the development of their communities and as individuals. Particularly, those who have previously endured segregation, discrimination and biases should be granted special attention so that they gain the most from the AHA service.
iii. Commitment to wider work
AHA has been known to be preoccupied with providing heart and brain health services to society over the years. However, there is a lot more than the organization is involved in. Evidence from the science of modern-day demonstrates that there is a lot of connectivity between minds, hearts, and bodies. It further indicates that these entities operate best in an environment that facilitates well-being in a holistic sense (Angell et al., 2020). A world such as the one ideal for well-being ensures that the important elements required for enhanced health and well-being are available for all. These include the structural and societal inputs to a healthy experience including education, housing, meaningful employment, healthy diet, water and clean air. To achieve this end, AHA and its partners should ensure that they depict a cross-section of people working in various areas around the U.S. and across the globe.







References
"About Us" (2020). The American Heart Association. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/about-us
Angell, S. Y., McConnell, M. V., Anderson, C. A., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Boyle, D. S., Capewell, S., ... & Huffman, M. D. (2020). The American Heart Association 2030 impact goal: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 141(9), e120-e138.
Barr, D. A. (2016). Geography as disparity: the shifting burden of heart disease.
Havranek, E. P., Mujahid, M. S., Barr, D. A., Blair, I. V., Cohen, M. S., Cruz-Flores, S., ... & Rosal, M. (2015). Social determinants of risk and outcomes for cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 132(9), 873-898.
Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2014). Business and Society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Lopez-Jimenez, F. (2012, October). The pursuit of ideal cardiovascular health: an individual and societal challenge. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 87, No. 10, pp. 929-931). Elsevier.
Mozaffarian, D., Benjamin, E. J., Go, A. S., Arnett, D. K., Blaha, M. J., Cushman, M., ... & Howard, V. J. (2016). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2016 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 133(4), 447-454.
Rehnborg, S. J., & Moore, M. (2012). Maximizing volunteer engagement. The Volunteer Management Handbook: Leadership Strategies for Success: Second Edition (pp. 103-124). John Wiley and Sons.
Scheier, I. (1975, Winter). Need-overlap analysis in helping (NOAH) for organized volunteer programs. In Synergist. Washington, D.C.: ACTION.