Tampa General Hospital Vice President Of Patient Experience Honored

TAMPA, FL — For her leadership and dedication to serving patients and families, Lara Klick, vice president of patient experience at Tampa General Hospital, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2023 list of “50+ Health System Chief Experience Officers to Know.” Chief experience professionals and patient experience professionals are interchangeable terms.

This is the second year that Becker’s Hospital Review has honored Klick. She was named to the national digital and print publication’s 2022 list of Outstanding Chief Experience Officers.

Honorees were selected by Becker’s Hospital Review for their ability to balance the best interests of caregivers, patients and hospital leadership to improve and to deliver excellent care and patient experiences. A patient experience officer is a skilled communicator who advocates for respectful care for patients. They help ensure equitable care and cultural transformation among health care clinicians and staff through team member training, education, patient surveys, data analysis and a focus on patient experience best practices — all resulting in better patient outcomes.

“It’s an honor to be recognized and this is possible because of the dedication and commitment of our Patient Experience team here at Tampa General,” said Klick, who has more than two decades of expertise specializing in patient experience. “I’m so proud of our patient experience team and the extraordinary work they do to elevate patient care.”

The patient experience team at Tampa General is dedicated to informing, educating and guiding hospital clinicians and support teams on best practices and methods to enhance compassionate communication with patients and their families with a focus on patient-centered care. The essence of patient-centered care includes support for:

• Coordination, continuity, transition and integration of patient care
• Collaborative care planning with the patient and their family
• Respect for patients' values, preferences and expressed needs
• Support for accessing care
• Emotional support
• Physical comfort

“Tampa General’s patient experience team is integral to ensuring patients are receiving care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences and needs and, above all, that they feel valued,” said Tampa General Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peggy Duggan. “Lara and her team advocate for our patients, families and our Tampa General team members every day. She’s an exceptional leader and much deserving of this national recognition.”

Included among Tampa General’s patient experience programs is its Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC). The council is a diverse group of former patients or family members of patients who meet regularly to advise the academic medical center on patient experience from ways to enhance patient education and safety to providing feedback on facility design and patient accessibility. The council provides valuable insight that helps Tampa General’s providers and staff better understand patient needs beyond clinical care.

Other ways Klick and the hospital’s patient experience team dedicate themselves to understanding the patient voice include using:

• Patient surveys and analysis of patient data
• “Power Hours” that bring together nurse leaders to share feedback and evidence-based health care best practices for reviewing patient status and care plans
• Free, qualified language interpretation services and aides for patients in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Hospital chaplains to monitor the spiritual health of patients, their families and Tampa General team members

“Patient experience in health care is internationally recognized as an important indicator of the quality of medical care,” Klick said. “Tampa General and our patient experience team are committed to making sure that people feel safe and comfortable when in our care and that we continue to grow and integrate new methods and ways of communicating that enrich the patient journey.”

The complete 2023 list of 50+ Health System Chief Experience Officers to Know may be viewed here.

This press release was produced by TGH. The views expressed here are the author's own.