Tampa General Hospital's Chief Patient Experience Officer Is Nationally Recognized for Third Consecutive Year

Becker's Hospital Review names Lara Klick a health system Chief Experience Officer to Know for her leadership and dedication to serving patients and families.

TAMPA, Fla., June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Chief Patient Experience Officer, Lara Klick, has been named to Becker's Hospital Review's 2024 list of "54 Chief Experience Officers to Know" for her leadership and dedication to serving patients and families. This marks the third consecutive year that Becker's Hospital Review has honored Klick, with previous recognitions including the publication's 2022 and 2023 lists of "Outstanding Chief Experience Officers" and "Health System Chief Experience Officers to Know."

Honorees were selected by Becker's Hospital Review for demonstrating the ability to balance the best interests of caregivers, patients and hospital leadership to improve and deliver world-class care and patient experiences. In her role, Klick and her Patient Experience team advocate for the respectful care of patients, driving cultural transformation through team member training, education, patient surveys, data analysis and a focus on patient experience best practices – all resulting in better patient outcomes. Klick believes that every "soft skill" required for effective patient communication is comprised of a set of "hard skills" that can be identified and taught to every team member.

"Lara is an outstanding leader with a tremendous wealth of knowledge on the art and science of patient experience, and we are fortunate to have her as an advocate for everyone involved in the delivery of patient care," said Dr. Peggy Duggan, executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief medical officer at Tampa General. "With Lara at the helm, our Patient Experience team goes above and beyond to ensure our patients are receiving care that is respectful of and responsive to their unique preferences and needs, which ultimately translates to better care and better outcomes."

Under Klick's leadership, the Patient Experience team at Tampa General is dedicated to informing, educating and guiding 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. A key initiative championed by Klick and her team is the formation of the Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC), a diverse group of 45 former patients or family members of patients who sit on hospital committees, assist with patient education and focus groups, and provide valuable feedback on facility design elements from accessibility to patient comfort. Klick has collaborated with teams across the academic health system to implement learnings from PFAC into the system's training programs, care protocols and operating model.

With nearly three decades of experience in the field, Klick has been at the forefront as patient experience developed into a critical, measurable component of quality health care. As part of the national committee that developed the federal patient complaint guidelines, Klick supported the launch of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) in 2006, as the first national, standardized and publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care.

Now, at Tampa General, Klick has rallied her team around a simple but effective two-part formula that first, creates channels and opportunities for patients to provide feedback and second, applies the insights to every patient and every interaction, every day.

This framework set the stage for Klick and her team to create and deploy a proprietary patient experience training program and patient communication model systemwide.

"This recognition is a reflection of the best-in-class Patient Experience team we've built and developed at Tampa General," said Klick. "There is no higher honor than when our patients and family members entrust their care and that of their loved ones to us and I am proud that our team takes that responsibility to heart by always doing the right thing for the people we serve."

Klick and the complete list of the "54 Chief Experience Officers to Know" are profiled here.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, 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 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital 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 health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and top 25 in Florida in the 2023 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 of approximately $240.3 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 Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging 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
Assistant Manager
Publications & Physician Communications
(727) 510-6363 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital