Northern Arizona Healthcare’s (NAH) mission and vision support our work to continually improve as a health care system so that we can always provide best-in-class care to a very large region.
Our 2030 Strategic Plan sets a path for our work and goals from 2025-2030. The plan is carefully crafted to build on our successes, take advantage of opportunities to improve and innovate as we provide everything from life-saving trauma care to annual wellness checks.
How we crafted this plan:
Northern Arizona Healthcare spent nearly two years listening to thousands of northern Arizona residents, NAH colleagues, community leaders, patients and health care providers throughout the region to understand how we can best serve a more than 50,000-square-mile area.
We listened, we asked questions, and we sought to understand the region’s needs through the voices of those we serve. We held dedicated conversations, interviewed individuals, hosted focus groups, fielded broad community surveys and sought to reach many voices.
Throughout the listening work, clear themes emerged. We found many occasions in which we heard similar priorities from people of varied geographic areas, life experiences and health needs, those who are new to the region and those who have lived among the landscapes of northern Arizona for generations.
Next, the NAH Board of Directors worked for months to revise the themes into a set of strategic imperatives to drive our work.
From 2025 – 2030 NAH will:
Strategic imperative 1.0
PUT OUR PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY FIRST
Strategic objective: Foster trusted relationships with colleagues, providers and community
Strategic initiatives:
- Retain, recruit and invest in our leaders, colleagues and providers
- Form new and strengthen existing community partnerships
- Build and maintain a workforce pipeline for our colleagues and providers
- Cultivate a culture of engagement and transparent communication
- Be a critical partner in a lead role in the community health infrastructure
- Listen to and be visible in the communities we serve
Strategic imperative 2.0
ADVANCE OUR PATH TO CLINICAL EXCELLENCE
Strategic objective: Advance patient safety and quality in a culture of accountability to achieve exceptional outcomes
Strategic initiatives:
- Deliver the safest, highest quality of care to our patients
- Provide patient-centered care and best-in-class experience
- Address disparities by improving community population health outcomes and achieving equitable access to care
- Standardize timeliness, efficiency and effectiveness across the care continuum
- Optimize use of electronic health records for our patients and colleagues
- Integrate evidence-based practices to reduce harm and enhance reliability and outcomes of clinical care
Strategic imperative 3.0
GROW OUR REACH (INCLUDING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MODERN REGIONAL REFERRAL HOSPITAL FACILITY)
Strategic objective: Expand our reach and improve access to care addressing barriers to care to meet the diverse needs of our rural communities
Strategic initiatives:
- Improve access to primary and specialty care including ambulatory sites growth
- Create a frictionless digital front door experience (e.g., online self-scheduling)
- Grow and add defined signature services (e.g., Cardiovascular, Oncology, Orthopedics, Women’s & Children’s, Behavioral Health and Trauma)
- Strengthen the NAH brand internally and externally
- Grow inpatient and outpatient capacity to meet community need including the construction of a modern regional referral hospital facility
- Meet the access needs of the rural communities and tribal nations through comprehensive outreach and enhanced virtual care services
Strategic imperative 4.0
ACHIEVE FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY
Strategic objectives:
Objective 4.1: Develop technology-enabled care models that ensure financial stability in a consumer-centric, provider-informed, clinically integrated health system
Strategic initiatives 4.1 – Financial growth and organizational stability:
- Collaborate with providers and colleagues to design high-performing models of care
- Secure transformative philanthropic investments
- Leverage technology to enable superior outcomes
- Realize value-based care models that drive cost effectiveness and consistently deliver exceptional clinical outcomes
- Innovate and scale impactful ideas to transform care delivery
- Adapt to public policy and industry changes impacting NAH
Objective 4.2: Maintain positive financial viability sufficient enough to fund major capital investments and technology improvements in the Strategic Plan
Strategic initiatives 4.2 – Financial viability:
- Achieve a 1.5% to 3.0% operating margin
- Ensure an optimal functional revenue cycle, meeting industry best practice metrics for adjusted collection rate, days in accounts receivable, denials and DNFB (Discharged, Not Final Billed)
- Optimize labor and non-labor expenses while preserving and improving clinical quality and patient experience
Progress highlights:
Team NAH is diligently working on small, medium and large implementation projects to accomplish elements of the strategic objectives within each of the above imperatives. As part of our commitment to transparency, milestones and important updates are shared below through the life of the plan.
Examples of our progress-to-date on the four imperative areas of focus:
- Opened three urgent care locations across northern Arizona, expanding access to care for the communities we serve. (Grow Our Reach)
- Advanced the FMC Emergency Department renovation, increasing capacity and improving the care environment for patients, families and staff. (Grow Our Reach | People & Community First)
- Raised $1.35 million in philanthropic support by groundbreaking for the new Verde Valley Cancer Center. (Financial & Organizational Stability | Grow Our Reach)
- Donated a rescue vehicle to the Fredonia Fire Department, supporting emergency response in the community. (People & Community First)
- Continued to earn Leapfrog “A” ratings at both hospitals and improved VVMC to a CMS 4-star rating, bringing both hospitals to 4 stars. (Clinical Excellence)
- Replaced more than half of contract labor and locum providers with permanent employed NAH staff and physicians compared to April 2025. (People & Community First | Financial & Organizational Stability)
- Improved provider experience with the NAH Electronic Health Record by more than 5% from 2025 to 2026. (Clinical Excellence)
Highlights updated June 2026. Please note: the above list is not exhaustive of all ongoing strategic work in progress.