YNHHS’ new Patient Experience culture champions meet regularly for patient experience training and other activities. From left are Tina Bennett, YNHHS chief experience officer; culture champions Joshua Perez, Christie Sapak, RN, Operating Room, Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus, Tobias Bourdeau and Lakiya Nichols; Vikki Winks, YNHHS director of patient relations and experience; and culture champions Tom Fedora, RN, and Terrill Mcduffie, environmental service associate, YNHH.
On June 23, employees across Yale New Haven Health filled Yale School of Medicine’s Harkness Auditorium for the 2026 Patient Experience Symposium. With the theme “Connected in Care: Every Person, Every Time,” the event featured presentations that shared insights, testimonials and best practices; celebrated achievements; and explored strategies for improving the patient experience.
Keynote speaker Deidre Mylod, PhD, senior vice president of Research and Analytics, Press Ganey, demonstrated how data show the correlation between an optimized patient experience and better clinical outcomes. She also discussed how many aspects of communication are important for clinical outcomes across all service lines.
“Even the thing that might seem like the most service- or amenity-focused … demonstrates emotional intent for patients,” Mylod said. “It is demonstrating that ‘I see you as a person, I care about you and I want to make your life better in this moment.’”
The symposium’s prevailing message was loud and clear: every YNHHS employee can impact the patient experience.
Speaker Shay Taylor-Allen, MD, shared her remarkable journey toward a career in medicine. At 18, she was working as a janitor at Yale New Haven Hospital when her mother was admitted. Taylor-Allen was inspired by the kindness and compassion of employees who supported her and her mother when they needed it most. Taylor-Allen has since started her residency in Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology.
Spotlights on best practices included a case study of the Greenwich Hospital Emergency Department’s work to improve patient experience scores. After a year-long effort focusing on patient callback, communication with doctors and nurses, facility comfort and cleanliness, food and nutrition, security, volunteer services and registration, the ED’s “likelihood of recommending” scores increased significantly.
“When teams understand the data, own the challenges and move forward together, improvement becomes a shared commitment of lasting change,” said Debi D’Alba, director of Patient Experience, Greenwich Hospital.
Denise Morris, vice president, Inclusion and Belonging and Employee and Labor Relations, YNHHS, discussed the relationship between employee engagement and patient experience, noting how engagement drives safety, quality and trust.
The symposium also recognized significant achievements in Press Ganey results at all YNHHS hospitals.
Culture champions: Making a difference in the patient experience
A highlight of this year’s Patient Experience Symposium was the introduction of the Patient Experience culture champions.
Tina Bennett, YNHHS chief experience officer, led a panel discussion with four of the new champions: Lakiya Nichols, interventional radiology tech, YNHH; Joshua Perez, support associate, Endoscopy, YNHH; Tobias Bourdeau, milieu counselor, transitional youth, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital; and Tom Fedora, RN, ICU, YNHH.
The panelists shared what the patient experience means to them and how they hope to make a difference in these new roles.
“I want people to feel empowered to make a difference and be able to endure change,” Nichols said. “I also want to help drive accountability.”
Perez spoke about his commitment to continuous learning and growth, and left attendees with a memorable reminder: “The minute you stop learning, you stop living.”
Bourdeau emphasized the value of meeting patients where they are and giving a little extra attention when possible.
Fedora pointed out the importance of connection in every interaction. “Sometimes we all need to stop, take a moment and connect with one another,” he said. “We all have the power to create a positive patient experience.”
The culture champions program began after Nichols shared her interest in becoming more involved in patient experience work. She teamed up with Bennett and Vikki Winks, YNHHS director of patient relations and experience, to bring the idea to life.
“I am always looking for ways to improve the experience for our staff and patients,” Bennett said. “We know that this work cannot be done without our staff, so engaging them is key and this is a great way to do that.”
Bennett said the vision is to have culture champions representing all care settings in every hospital delivery network.
“They will act as an advisory council to provide insights on improving the experience, help drive best practices and increase staff engagement,” she said.
Culture champions are employees who have been nominated for or received PEACE (Patient Experience Award for Caring and Excellence) recognition, and who model YNHHS’ Standards of Professional Behavior by going above and beyond to prioritize the patient experience.
A pinning ceremony will be planned in August to formally recognize the culture champions.
