Formed in May 2023, the Ambulatory Patient Experience Council (APEC) promotes best practices and strategic improvements in patient and employee experiences across the Mount Sinai Health System’s ambulatory practices. To achieve these goals, APEC leverages a multidisciplinary team known as the “Power Squad” to spearhead improvement initiatives and offer dedicated support to various departments.
“APEC is truly a collective effort to ensure we stay aligned in our commitment to improve the patient and employee experience across our ambulatory practices,” says Kelly Cassano, DO, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice; Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Operations, Mount Sinai Health System; Dean for Clinical Affairs, and Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “What excites me the most about APEC is being able to not only expand best practices across all of our ambulatory practices, but also offer individualized support to the various practices across all departments, helping them address their unique challenges.”
In its first year, the Power Squad brought together a diverse group of leaders from Ambulatory, the Office of Patient Experience, Talent Development and Learning, Clinical and Administrative leadership, and the Office of Well-Being and Resilience, among others, to promote best practices and strategic improvements in patient and employee experiences. The team works to foster alignment within Ambulatory and its partners, utilize data to create actionable outcomes, and roll out interventions at both departmental and systemic levels.
The Power Squad (from left): Stephanie York, Associate Director, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice; Edgar Benitez, MBA, SPHR, Associate Director of Training and Organizational Development, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice; Mei Yun Liu, Project Manager, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice; Mindy Morris, MS, Ed, CPXP, System Patient Experience Coach; Isadora Braune, CPXP, Data Strategy and Operations Manager, Mount Sinai Health System Patient Experience team
To reach these goals, the Power Squad consolidated tactics and tools that departments can use to enhance the patient and employee experience, including recognition tactics for elevating employees for going above and beyond; professional development opportunities for supporting employees’ personal and career growth; resources for enhancing employee well-being; and data and analytics tools for listening to the voices of patients and employees.
“It’s been wonderful seeing Ambulatory leaders and our partners come together in our shared goal of supporting our employees with tools and resources that empower them to create the best possible patient experience,” says Anne Dickerson, Chief of Staff and Vice President, Administration and Planning, and Vice President of Ambulatory Operations, Mount Sinai Hospital-Based Faculty Practice. “It’s a forum where we can learn from and support one another in our journey toward excellence in patient care.”
A key element of APEC’s strategy is offering patient experience coaching, designed to empower department leaders, providers, and staff with insights gathered from both patient experiences and Your Voice Counts, a confidential, systemwide employee engagement survey. Coaches collaborate closely with departments to assess their unique needs, then create individualized intervention plans that integrate best practices, one-on-one coaching, and skills development modules. Coaching efforts have kicked off with three select departments to ensure efforts are directed where they can be most effective, promoting a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in patient care.
For example, findings from one practice’s data analysis indicated patients were consistently frustrated with wait times. Through further analysis and observations, the coaches learned it is not just the wait times themselves, but also the lack of communication surrounding them. In response, the coaches worked with frontline staff to more effectively manage expectations around wait time, utilize active listening, communicate delays with empathy, and use service recovery tools to address patient complaints.
Moving forward, a major next step is to develop targeted intervention plans with additional departments through Ambulatory patient experience coaching. As the coaches gain a deeper understanding of each department’s unique needs and challenges, APEC will draw on various best practices to support the departments’ efforts to elevate the patient and employee experience. In addition to refining coaching efforts, APEC also plans to expand Take10, an employee wellness program, to more ambulatory sites. The expansion of this program represents APEC’s commitment to employee well-being and creating a supportive environment for employees.
“We want to thank everyone across the ambulatory enterprise for your dedication and commitment to enhancing the experience of our patients and staff,” says Paul Zucker, Vice President of Ambulatory Operations, Mount Sinai Downtown. “We are grateful for your ongoing support and look forward to continuing this meaningful work together.”
In our patients’ own words
“Dr. Cices and staff were thorough, listened to what I had to say, and carefully examined my concerns. She gave me a tailored and, so far, effective treatment, and made me feel like we were a doctor/patient team. I would recommend her as a great dermatologist, who makes Mount Sinai a wonderful hospital.”
– Dermatology Patient