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5 lessons from HX23: Top executives share key strategies to transform healthcare in 2023

Press Ganey’s annual conference brings together experts at the forefront of healthcare and technology to discuss the current state and future of our industry. This year, we convened in person—for the first time since COVID-19—under a new name: the Human Experience Conference (HX23). 

Leaders from across the country, including executives at Cleveland Clinic, NYC Health + Hospitals, UCLA Health, and many more, met in Orlando to connect, learn from, and inspire one another so we keep driving the industry forward. Thousands who couldn’t join us in person tuned in virtually.

Read on for key leadership lessons from the people and systems making healthcare better for all. 

1. Invest in your communities to empower the individuals within them

— AltaMed & UC Davis Health

The relationship between healthcare organizations and their community is crucial. Healthcare leaders need to think locally—through investing, sourcing, hiring, and more—to connect with and uplift their community. When we listen to, and directly engage with, our communities, we instill the loyalty and trust that is so essential to making our organizations thrive. And only when we have loyalty and trust can we provide top-notch care. It’s a feedback loop that not only improves the patient journey, but healthcare systems as a whole. 

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Embedded in the values of AltaMed, is community and connection to the community. From our very beginning, we recognized that 80% of the problems were not to be cured in examination rooms. They were outside. It is politics, it’s economic, it’s poverty, it’s discrimination, it’s violence—it’s all those things that, today, we refer to as ‘social determinants of health.’”

Cástulo de la Rocha
President and CEO, AltaMed Health Services

2. DEI can’t be a siloed discussion

— UCLA Health

In healthcare, our ultimate goal is to achieve equitable health outcomes for all. To do this, we must provide high-quality, safe, and equitable care. In the words of Medell Briggs-Malonson, UCLA Health’s Chief of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: “Equity is a pathway to achieve justice.” The first step is to identify the systems of oppression that contribute to inequity. Then, we must eliminate those systems. But, in doing so, we need to recognize that DEI is not the responsibility of one person or one office. It should be thread throughout the entire organization. Cultural transformation happens when leaders understand it’s the responsibility of us all.

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We know that there’s bias literally built into our systems—whether it’s safety reporting systems or delivery of care systems. And until we face it, and clearly identify it, we can’t go deep to fix it. That's why data is so important.”

Medell Briggs-Malonson, MD, MPH, MSHS
Chief of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, UCLA Hospital & Clinic System

3. Invest in nursing staff at every level

— NYC Health + Hospitals, UnityPoint Health, UCLA Health

The staff most at risk of turnover are nurses younger than 35 who have been at their current employer for less than a year. Healthcare organizations need to focus on how they can combat turnover and invest in younger—and new—staff. So how do we make this happen? Focus on mentorship, engage with your staff’s passions, and create community within your organization. As Natalia Cineas, NYC Health + Hospital’s SVP, says, “It’s important to create that space of mentorship at every level of the organization.” Integrate mentorship throughout your organization to help your staff thrive. Then tap into their individual passions, so they are engaged in your organization. 

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4. Digital transformation starts with a cultural transformation

— Best Buy, U.S. Bank, Charles Schwab

Healthcare can learn from traditional consumer industries in how they approach consumer experience and data. How can we, as healthcare organizations, take what the consumer industry is doing to better understand patients and meet their needs? Consumer industries—like Best Buy, U.S. Bank, and Charles Schwab—are diving deep into the personal experiences of consumers—and ensuring their specific needs are met. It’s time to connect the tech to the Human Experience—to understand the “why” behind our relationships with patients.

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5. Get back to the basics: Listen, listen, listen

— Cleveland Clinic, NewYork-Presbyterian, UC Davis Health, CommonSpirit Health 

Healthcare is still processing everything we’ve experienced over the past few years. We’re in recovery mode. So now, more than ever, it’s important to reinvest in our core values to create a more effective workplace. This means going back to the basics of providing great care, like investing in reliability, using team-based delivery, and truly listening to what our patients and employees need. 

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We’re really thinking about the Human Experience on both sides of the stethoscope.”

Jennifer Baron
CXO, UC Davis Health


Our one-of-a-kind Human Experience platform connects people, processes, and technology to help you understand the individuals and optimize the experiences at the heart of healthcare. To learn more, reach out to a Human Experience expert.

About the author

As Press Ganey’s Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips’ main focus is on improving healthcare value at scale. She is responsible for leading the Strategic Consulting team and Centers of Excellence. Prior to joining Press Ganey, Dr. Compton-Phillips was the President of Clinical Care at Providence, responsible for clinical operations and care including improving health, care, and value outcomes delivered by the 52 hospitals, 1,085 clinics, and 120,000 caregivers of the $25 billion health system.

Profile Photo of Amy Compton-Phillips, MD