Though he wouldn’t recommend it, a three-month hospital stay paints a pretty vivid picture of what’s wrong with the patient experience — and clear ideas on how to fix it.
“He” is Sven Gierlinger, senior vice president and chief experience officer leading a cultural transformation at Northwell Health, New York state’s biggest hospital system and largest private employer. Having endured an arduous medical odyssey of his own — ICU, ventilator, total paralysis, rehab, home care, outpatient care — Gierlinger knows how it feels to rely on others when you are at your most vulnerable. His extended hospital stay as a young adult “who could not lift my eyebrows” filled him with ideas to improve the experience in ways that soothe all five senses of the human body.
Ten years after joining Northwell as its first chief experience officer, Gierlinger and Northwell CEO Michael Dowling continue to innovate and refine their customer/patient experience strategy, built upon what they call a “culture of C.A.R.E.” and patient centeredness. This cultural indoctrination starts on day one of employment.
Sven Gierlinger, SVP, chief experience officer, Northwell Health. Photo courtesy of Northwell Health.
As Gierlinger was speaking with Customer Strategist Journal from his New Hyde Park, N.Y., office, Dowling was one floor below, telling 200+ new hires that they are in the customer service industry — that Northwell needs patients as much, maybe more, than patients need Northwell for care. After the CEO spent two hours talking with, and taking questions from, new hires on their first day of work, Gierlinger would follow to share his personal story, emphasizing the impact new hires have to create an exceptional experience and the accountability that comes with that.
The Dowling-Gierlinger tag team, which embraces an “in the trenches” leadership style, presents this orientation every Monday morning, as part of onboarding 250 new hires weekly. All told, more than 89,000 employees, including 5,400 on-staff doctors and 19,000 nurses, have had this face time with Northwell’s CEO and CXO.
Northwell Health’s culture of C.A.R.E. training covers competencies around patient experience, and the acronym stands for: connectedness, awareness, respect, and empathy. “Behaviors are important,” Gierlinger says. “We are looking for employees who have the heart and hospitality skills that fit into our culture. We also have a policy on our culture of C.A.R.E. When you make something a policy, it becomes real.”
Gierlinger knows something about hospitality. Prior to joining Northwell, he was vice president of hospitality and service culture at Henry Ford Health in Detroit. Before that, he was at the Ritz Carlton, where the mandate for creating a sense of well-being for guests was branded “The Ritz Carlton Mystique.”
The mystique, Gierlinger explains, refers to The Ritz’s practice, pioneering at the time, of capturing customer likes and dislikes (expressed and unexpressed) to ensure personal preferences are honored and anticipated regardless of whether a guest is a regular at a New York hotel, or checking in for the first time in Osaka, Japan.
“This directly translates to healthcare. It’s not just about a medical record but also what is important to you as a human being, who you are, and how the physicians are building relationships so they can collaborate with patients,” he said. “This is more important in healthcare than it is in hospitality because there is more at stake — life and death. That is a key distinction.”
Doctors without (relationship) borders
The cultural transformation encompassing the entire Northwell ecosystem is a major point of pride for Gierlinger.
Another CX milestone, he said, is the development of Northwell’s Relationship-Centered Communication course. Designed for physicians in partnership with the Academy on Communication in Healthcare (ACH) and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, the program reinforces evidence-based empathy and communication skills.
“This is an area that’s hard to tackle: How to get physicians onboard, to be part of this cultural transformation,” he said. Now in its seventh year, the Relationship-Centered Communication course has been completed by nearly 4,000 Northwell Health providers.
The course not only teaches skills to demonstrate empathy but how doctors can build relationships by focusing on factors outside that patient-doctor encounter — to assess, understand, and collaborate for a better patient experience and better health outcomes.
This physician training consumes a full day and that represents an “eternity” in the psyche of busy doctors, Gierlinger said. It’s worth it. “We see it in our results and the specific domains that matter on CMS Star Ratings,” he said, adding that Northwell physicians receive patient recommendation scores reaching near the top decile.
Even seasoned physicians, those practicing 30 years and more, acknowledge the program has helped them to view patient interactions with fresh eyes. “Now I know what I’ve been doing wrong,” said one doctor.
“We’re very proud of our physicians. They are incredible clinicians. They have heart and incredible compassion,” Gierlinger said.
‘Yes, Chef!’
Northwell has made CX strides in other innovative areas such as the use of artificial intelligence and even redesigning hospital gowns to promote dignity and comfort. But ask Gierlinger which experiential enhancement really speaks to him: Culinary excellence.
“Bad food has been synonymous with hospital food,” Gierlinger said. “Many reasons why people are in the hospital is because of poor diet. Then, they come to the hospital and we serve them … bad, unhealthy, processed food?”
When he joined Northwell Health in 2014, the hospital system’s meals ranked in the 9th percentile in terms of patient satisfaction. Today, Northwell food service earns an 84% approval rating across 21 hospitals — and 10 of those locations outperform the average with patient approval rankings in the 90% range.
How did Northwell do it? Culinary changemakers.
Gierlinger, a former hospitality manager himself, hired passionate chefs to rethink food offerings, nutrition, and presentation. With credentials from places like Michelin star-rated Plaza Hotel, Sonoma Mission Inn, The Ritz-Carlton, and The French Laundry, Northwell chefs reinvented menus (some tailored to patients with heart disease) and now serve up what amounts to healthy comfort food. Think: miso-glazed cod loin, herb-encrusted rack of lamb, and avocado toast for breakfast.
“The food is so good, it makes patients feel cared for. It transports them for a brief moment out of the hospital,” Gierlinger explained. It’s more than what pleases the palate, he added. Emphasis is on friendliness of the server and how an entrée is presented, garnish and other flourishes.
Just like in the hospitality industry, the focus at Northwell Health is on that one-time opportunity: Creating that first impression.
“We want to give 100% attention to every guest who walks in. Everything looks beautiful, smells beautiful. It enlivens the senses. That is critical in healthcare. When you show up for a medical appointment, there’s a lot going on. You may have worries and be in pain. You deserve to feel comfortable and cared for in a setting that is friendly and warm. That should be your first impression.”
Photos courtesy of Northwell Health
