Transforming a Healthcare System with Love and Structured Accountability

• Jen Lorenz, DNP, MHA, MA, RN, CPXP, CNE | Chief Patient Experience Officer, VP Ambulatory Quality Operations & Analytics | University Hospitals Health System, Cleveland, Ohio

University Hospitals (UH) has been on a 4-year transformational journey to improve our patients’ and employees’ experiences. UH has harnessed the power of love, coupled with structured accountability, to transform a 16-hospital health system into a flourishing and focused system. A thriving health care system has four pillars that intertwine with an excellent patient experience: leadership, employee engagement, quality, and finance. In 2020, UH had a shift in a cornerstone pillar, with a system leadership change. This was quickly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic progressed and volumes increased, employee and nursing shortages began to take a toll. All of this was followed by the healthcare economic challenges. UH leadership rose to the challenge to rebuild and reinvigorate our workforce and to continue our longstanding commitment to our communities and patients. UH introduced the idea of “love”, initially as somewhat of a grassroots movement within the organization. The clinical transformation committee, now called the “illuminators” as they illuminate the way for others, began to take a structured approach to heal our organization and transform the culture to one of caring, kindness, and compassion, which we recognize as love. The illuminators utilized ritual, rhetoric, and reward & recognition to build trust and spread the culture of love throughout the organization.