Tampa General Hospital Vice President of Patient Experience is Nationally Honored for Second Consecutive Year

Becker's Hospital Review names Lara Klick a health system chief experience officer to know.

TAMPA, Fla., April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For her leadership and dedication to serving patients and families, Lara Klick, vice president of Patient Experience, Tampa General Hospital (TGH), 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 utilizing:

• 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.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL 
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org).  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Senior Communications Specialist
(813) 844-7322 (direct)
(813) 510-6363 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital