Medical Laboratory Observer’s (MLO) sister publication, Healthcare Innovation (HCI), has named three 2026 Innovator Award Winners. HCI Head of Content Melinda Taschetta-Millane introduced the recipients in a press release.

The Healthcare Innovation Innovator Awards highlight hospitals, health systems, medical groups, health information exchanges, government agencies and other organizations that demonstrate new ways to improve healthcare delivery and change their organization for the better.

The 2026 winners are:

• ACURE4Moms, for a statewide approach to improving maternal and infant health by bringing together health information exchange, data analytics, community-based doula support and evidence-based strategies to address disparities in maternal care.
• Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, for a nurse-led, EHR-integrated preoperative optimization program that helped reduce same-day joint replacement cancellations from 9% to just 2% while improving patient readiness and operating room efficiency in a rural Critical Access Hospital.
• Southern Nevada Department of Veterans Affairs, for using artificial intelligence, virtual reality and immersive learning to rethink workforce education, dramatically reducing training costs while improving staff knowledge, confidence and preparedness.

HCI will share more information about each of these projects and the people behind them over the next three days. Taschetta-Millane said, “I'm particularly excited about these stories because they get at the heart of what healthcare innovation should be: people finding better ways to solve the problems in front of them, and creating something that others can learn from.”

Visit HCI for more information.