2012 National Client Conference Highlights
The 2012 Press Ganey National Client Conference, “Transforming the Patient Experience” was held Nov. 12-14 in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington D.C. Nearly 2,000 health care professionals joined to network and partake in the three-day conference, which featured engaging keynote sessions and more than 50 different educational breakout sessions led by thought leaders from Press Ganey and health care industry experts.
Watch theme video.
Press Ganey CEO Patrick T. Ryan opened the conference by saluting veterans and recognizing the health care workers who responded selflessly to Hurricane Sandy. In his remarks, he challenged the gathered health care leaders to think about the patient experience from a different perspective, inviting each of them to examine every facet of their operation — clinical, safety, financial and satisfaction — for improvement opportunities.
Inaugural Press Ganey Innovation Award Presented to Cosgrove by Company Founders, Press and Ganey
After his thought-provoking commentary, Ryan brought Dr. Irwin Press and Dr. Rod Ganey to the stage. Attendees enthusiastically rose to applaud the company’s founders, whose passion and drive gave birth to the patient experience industry. Together, Press and Ganey presented the inaugural Press Ganey Innovation Award to Dr. Delos M. “Toby” Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, in recognition of the transformative patient-centered programs implemented at the Clinic under Cosgrove’s leadership. This presentation was followed with an announcement of Press Ganey’s newest initiative, the Institute for Innovation. This think tank and research collaborative, to be led by executive director, Deirdre Mylod, PhD, will offer market leaders access to strategic and financial support for new concepts to transform the entire patient experience.
Keynote Speakers
Former Gov. Jeb Bush presented the first keynote, a wide-ranging examination of the economic health of our nation. He challenged the nation’s leaders to build consensus in order to create the kind of economic growth he believes will solve many of the problems facing our nation. Tuesday’s keynote was delivered by
Captain Mark Kelly, who recounted the many lessons learned during his career as a Navy fighter pilot, astronaut and space shuttle commander. Throughout his presentation, he wove in anecdotes related to the assassination attempt on his wife, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. A special appearance by Giffords at the conclusion of Kelly’s speech brought the crowd to its feet. Beaming, she delivered this inspiring message in a confident voice: Be passionate. Be courageous. Be strong. Be your best.
Innovation Pavillion
Also featured at this year’s conference was the new Innovation Pavilion, a colorful and welcoming space where clients could meet Press Ganey staff and learn more about our suite of solutions and services. In keeping with the conference theme of transformation, a living art project created entirely from ordinary medical supplies took shape during the conference, emerging as a beautiful three-dimensional butterfly. Photos of the artwork, conference presentations and events are available at
flickr.com/pressganey. You can also read this blog post
about the innovation pavillion.
2012 Breakout Session Highlights
Breakout sessions highlighted best practices on key health care issues as well as success stories from a variety of client organizations. Health care professionals from hospitals, medical practices, home care and academic medical centers garnered actionable insights from these stories and learned more about how to improve clinical quality and efficiency, patient satisfaction, employee and physician engagement, and strategy and leadership.
2012 Press Ganey Award Winners
Press Ganey announced its elite class of 2012
award-winning health care organizations, recognizing more than 175 institutions for their dedication to improvement across the continuum of care. The awards program recognizes outstanding levels of performance for both satisfaction – patient, physician and employee – as well as clinical core measures.
Jeb Bush
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush addressed attendees on the first day of conference. The central theme of his speech was the economic health of our country. Listing issues that need to be addressed, Governor Bush challenged the nation’s leaders to find the consensus needed to create the kind of economic growth he believes will solve many of the problems that face our nation. “We need our leaders to break with the orthodoxy of the times and restore American confidence,” said Bush.
Captain Mark Kelly
Captain Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and shuttle commander, recounted the lessons he has learned throughout his life in his keynote speech the second day of conference.
Starting from an early age, Captain Kelly stated he first learned the meaning of goal setting, making plans and hard work when, came as a child, as he watched his mother train to become one of New Jersey’s first policewomen. While he too was no stranger to success, Kelly’s journey to become a pilot and astronaut was not easy. “How good you are at the beginning of anything new you try is not a good indicator of how good you can become,” Kelly said, which truly resonated with the health care professionals looking to improve their organizations. He also shared a gripping tale of a near miss during a mission over Iraq to illustrate that “there is no excuse for not having timely — and accurate — communications.” But perhaps the greatest lesson Kelly has learned came from his encounter with health care as his wife U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords endured months of multiple surgeries and ongoing rehabilitation. Using logic he had learned at NASA, “None of us is as dumb as all of us,” Kelly cautioned against “group think” and exhorted the room full of health care professionals to always ask questions just as he did when deciding how to care for his wife.
At the end of the speech, Giffords took the stage to join Kelly providing inspiration to all with her undeniable spirit and resilience.
