Day 1: July 20, 2022

The healthcare space has been the scene of rising tensions that were only exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic. In investigating this “epidemic of rudeness”, Jason Dupuis, Chief Experience Officer at PM Pediatrics set out to explore the origins of this tension and find ways to reframe the narrative to bring staff and patient experience into one strategy. In this session, Jason talks about beginning the human experience journey and steps along the way such as:

• Understanding the current healthcare landscape from patient and staff perspectives
• Bringing staff into decision making around patient interactions
• Setting up opportunities and preparing for patient conversations to emphasize listening and de-escalation
• Reexamining core values to make sure they capture the human experience

Jason Dupuis

Chief Experience Officer
PM Pediatrics

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Delivering great service is at the core of patient experience – but measuring, evaluating and changing your patient experience scores can be a frustrating guessing game without supporting data. Hear from Ashley Ackerman, Director of Patient Experience at Baptist Health System KY/IN, about how Baptist Health Medical Group created an internal metric to track the adoption of soft skill training and its overall impact on the patient experience.

Through this fireside chat, we will explore:

• The addition of key survey questions to pinpoint patients’ perceptions of courtesy, empathy and respect
• Understanding the correlation between soft skills and overall patient experience, as well as how to use these metrics as early predictors and gauges
• Targeting behaviors in service training that move the dial on these soft skills and make lasting impacts on patient experience

Ashley Ackerman

Director, Patient Experience, Strategic Operations
Baptist Health System KY & IN

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When it comes to creating great patient experiences, it is vital to engage patient communities, PFACs and more to create a sense of community and ensure there are avenues for meaningful change. In this session, we will hear different perspectives from the healthcare community with the goal of making a lasting impact through best practices such as:

• Engaging your patients as partners in designing patient experiences
• Designating PFAC's role in organizations and ensuring they are able to communicate findings and suggestions
• Continual outreach around new initiatives and policies that effect patient experience 
• Opening lines of communication to build empathy and understanding between staff and patient advocates

Peggy Greco, Ph.D.

Chief Patient Experience Officer
Nemours Children's Health

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Accurate and transparent data is central to helping patients make care decisions and helping hospitals develop strategies to improve patient satisfaction. In this session, learn about the process of creating a transparent, clear and cohesive ratings system with Kathy Denton, a leader in Patient Experience at MD Anderson Cancer Center, including challenges and lessons learned. Find out more about best practices for:

• Creating a set of questions that capture the patient experience and translating that to a rubric
• Rolling out a new system to staff, with strategies to address physician concerns
• Setting up comment criteria and making certain that comments are relevant to the physician
• Using star ratings to improve patient satisfaction and engagement

Kathy Denton

Director, Patient Experience
MD Anderson Cancer Center

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The recent health crisis has increased stress and decreased tolerance and empathy across the nation. In this climate, how do health care institutions maintain a patient-centered culture as the core priority? It starts with recognizing patients’ vulnerability, finding ways to prevent escalation and strategies for creating a respectful and caring environment for both staff and patients. Hear from Dr. Peggy Greco, Chief Patient Experience Officer at Nemours Children’s Health, on strategies for:

• Understanding how patient and healthcare culture has been shaped in recent years
• Increasing awareness and acknowledgement of staff and patient stress and modifying our approach to maintaining a patient-centered culture
• Evaluating your health care environment and implementing changes to influence patient and staff behaviors
• Teaching cultural awareness and sensitivity to understand how vulnerable patients experience healthcare
• Helping associates and patients alike feel safe and supported in the health care environment 

Peggy Greco, Ph.D.

Chief Patient Experience Officer
Nemours Children's Health

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With the great resignation, staff burnout, and many personal challenges, it can be harder than ever to keep staff feeling valued and supported. Add to that an influx of hiring and new employees – how do you make sure you are listening and giving staff the support and tools needed to deliver excellent patient experience? Through this session, we look at strategies for listening to, investing in, and empowering your teams. Hear about strategies for:

• Building opportunities for listening and learning from your team members through task forces, formal and informal feedback gathering and more.
• Making small investments that can lead to big impacts in team wellness and satisfaction
• Exploring opportunities to empower staff to continue personal and professional growth
• Taking the opportunity to review lessons learned and bring your findings back to your teams to continue employee dialogue

Lisa Gutierrez

Chief People Officer
Fast Pace Health

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Mendy Goonan

Chief Experience Officer
Central Maine Healthcare

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Kellie Medious

DEI Officer and Senior Director of Patient Access Operations
Erie Family Health Centers

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