Celebrating excellence in healthcare and innovation at HX26
By Dan Litwer, EVP and Chief Growth Officer, Healthcare, Press Ganey
Every year, leaders from around the world come together for Press Ganey’s conference to celebrate something that transcends metrics and titles: the Human Experience (HX) of healthcare. It’s a moment to honor the leaders who make care better through innovation and compassion, and by lifting up the people at the heart of it all. It’s work that transforms the very meaning of “care” for everyone that work touches—patients and their families, front-line clinicians and behind-the-desk employees, and entire communities.
At HX26, we had the privilege of recognizing five extraordinary individuals and three forward-thinking organizations with the 2026 Executive Human Experience Awards. These leaders are improving outcomes and bringing healthcare into the future, setting a new standard for what it means to lead with both head and heart. And, above all, they are shaping a culture where compassion, safety, and purpose are nonnegotiable.
Let’s take a closer look at our 2026 honorees, and the powerful lessons they offer us all.
Meet Press Ganey’s 2026 Executive Human Experience award winners
This year’s winners exemplify meaningful leadership in practice. Across health systems, health plans, and care teams, they are redefining how care is delivered—and how it is experienced. Their impact shows up in every moment, every day, for every individual across the healthcare ecosystem.
Innovator of the Year: Jeffrey Flaks, President and CEO, Hartford HealthCare
Innovation has never been about chasing trends. It’s always been about solving real-world problems through bold vision and disciplined execution. Jeffrey Flaks, our first-ever Innovator of the Year, exemplifies this truth. Under his leadership, Hartford HealthCare has become a national leader in virtual care and AI-enabled clinical support.
Crucially, that innovation is grounded in a relentless commitment to safety, where Hartford is setting national standards—and is, today, one of the safest places to receive care in the world. That alignment of cutting-edge thinking with patient-centered delivery is what truly sets them apart. Watch his video.
CEO of the Year: Warner L. Thomas, President and CEO, Sutter Health
Warner Thomas has led Sutter Health through a period of transformation that is as strategic as it is human-centered. Since stepping in as CEO in 2022, he’s expanded access across Northern California through strategic investments in ambulatory growth, digital care, physician recruitment, and workplace culture. I’ve seen firsthand how his listening-first approach has unified teams around a shared purpose, creating a model of visible, values-based leadership.
One thing that also strikes me is how Warner leads with heart. He and the entire Sutter team have leaned into authentic engagement, both internally and in the communities they serve. Their digital and brand work reflects a system that knows who it is, and what it stands for. Under Warner’s stewardship, Sutter is proving that when brand, culture, and strategy move together, deeper trust and stronger relationships follow. Watch his video.
CXO of the Year: Camille Haycock, NEA-BC, SVP, Patient Experience, CommonSpirit Health
Few roles have evolved as rapidly as that of the chief experience officer. Camille Haycock has risen to the challenge, infusing patient experience into the operational and cultural heart of CommonSpirit Health. A clinician by training, she has an incredible ability to blend both data discipline and genuine empathy, turning “experience” into a bridge between clinical excellence and patient trust. She doesn’t think of experience as a department, but a way of being.
When I think of Camille, what sets her apart is her unwavering belief in something we can often overlook: that empathy and humankindness are not soft skills but, in fact, essential elements of health and healing. And she’s helping a national system realize that truth. Watch her video >>
Physician of the Year: Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, Chief Physician Executive, Houston Methodist
Dr. Shlomit Schall is one of those rare leaders who brings both intellect and empathy to every room she enters. A physician, executive, and founder of the Joy in Medicine Initiative, she’s long championed the well-being of those who care for others.
At Houston Methodist, she’s championed the physician voice as a driving force for change. Because exceptional care begins with caring for our own. And when clinicians feel supported and valued, patients feel it too. Watch her video >>
CNO of the Year: Nancy Holecek, Chief Nursing Officer, RWJBarnabas Health
For over 40 years, Nancy Holecek has been a steady compassionate force at RWJBarnabas Health. She exemplifies the best in nursing. Her team speaks of her with a depth of emotion that tells you everything—their admiration, gratitude, and respect for her leadership.
Nancy has elevated workforce development and coaching while building a culture rooted in kindness, accountability, and psychological safety. What makes Nancy so special and her work so impactful is, in a sense, surprisingly simple: She ensures each and every nurse is supported to practice at their highest level—both empowered to deliver the care they were trained to give and the compassion they were called to share. Watch her video >>
High Reliability Organization (HRO) Foundation Award: Providence
High reliability is a mindset and a way of working at Providence. Through their Caring Reliably framework, they’ve woven safety into the very fabric of everyday work, leading to meaningful and measurable reductions in serious safety events.
But the true impact goes beyond numbers. Providence has created a culture where every voice matters, learning never stops, and the responsibility of safety belongs to everyone. It’s a place where caregivers feel they can speak up, grow, and do what they came to healthcare to do: Protect and heal. Watch their video >>
Health System of the Year: Prisma Health
What happens when safety, quality, patient experience, workforce engagement, and efficiency are unified in a single daily management model? At Prisma Health, the result is profound. Their Clinical Operating System has proven to be a true management system, creating a high-performing, highly reliable environment to practice and receive care. Prisma Health’s team members take pride and ownership in solving today’s problems today—and designing tomorrow’s solutions—elevating care, at scale. And they are a reminder that discipline and empathy are partners in driving measurable improvements that can be sustained over time. Watch their video.
Health Plan of the Year: Aetna, a CVS Health Company
In a healthcare landscape that, too often, feels fragmented and disconnected, Aetna is doing something different: tearing down walls and building bridges in their place. As one of the first health plans to join the Press Ganey HX Exchange, they connect the dots between patient experiences in provider settings and member experience outcomes. It’s a bold and progressive step toward a more frictionless experience for every person, no matter where they are on their care journey. Watch their video >>
Our 2026 Executive Human Experience Award winners are setting a higher standard—one where leadership is defined not simply by results, but by relationships. By trust. They remind us that excellence in healthcare begins with listening. It requires aligning around purpose, and never losing sight of the human beings at the center of it all.
At Press Ganey, we’re honored to support these leaders and the countless others who work tirelessly, every day, to create a more compassionate, reliable, and equitable ecosystem.
This week has shown that healthcare is making real progress. Let’s take a minute to appreciate it. Together, we’ll keep learning from one another and leading our industry forward.