AHA podcast explores AI and the future of staffing

In an American Hospital Association podcast, AONL member Larissa Africa, MBA, RN, vice president of health care workforce solutions with Staff Garden by Ascend Learning, discusses how hospitals are redesigning care teams and using artificial intelligence to reduce administrative burden. Highlighting findings from the 2026 AHA Health Care Workforce Scan, Africa said hospitals are taking a team-based approach to ensure team members are working to the top of their license. Hospitals are leveraging AI for clinical-decision support such as identifying sepsis risk, patient deterioration and readmission probability. She stressed AI is not replacing clinical judgment but is acting as a smarter early-warning system. Similarly, speakers at HIMSS26 said hospitals are using AI to improve efficiency in staffing, bed management and supply chain management.