The awards honor five individuals and two healthcare organizations, recognizing their leadership in the areas of patient, consumer and employee experience; nursing excellence, and safety.

ORLANDO, Fla. --(BUSINESS WIRE)

Press Ganey, the leading provider of experience measurement, data analytics, and insights for health systems and health plans, today announced the recipients of its Executive Human Experience Awards at HX25, the organization’s annual national client conference in Orlando, FL.

The awards honor five individuals and two healthcare organizations in the United States, recognizing their leadership in the areas of patient, consumer and employee experience, nursing excellence, and safety.

"Press Ganey is honored to recognize the remarkable individuals and organizations that have been selected for this year's Executive Human Experience awards," said Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO at Press Ganey Forsta. "These honorees represent the pinnacle of healthcare excellence, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to safety, patient care, workforce engagement, and clinical quality. Their innovative approaches and dedication to improving the human experience of healthcare have had a profound impact on their organizations and the communities they serve."

This year’s winners include:

HX25 CEO of the Year Award: Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, Chief Executive Officer, Risant Health; Washington, D.C.

The CEO of the Year Award recognizes a visionary leader who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the human experience in healthcare. Dr. Ryu, the recipient, is a trailblazer who has made a profound impact on the quality of care and patient experience. In April 2024, he assumed the role of CEO at Risant Health, a nonprofit organization which seeks to bring high-quality care to a large segment of Americans by integrating Kaiser Permanente’s care model with local delivery systems. Continuing a long personal legacy of shaping and influencing health policy, Dr. Ryu hit the ground running with Risant, working to institute a proactive, value-based care model focused on prevention, quality outcomes, affordability and equity, as opposed to a hospital/emergency department episode-focused model.

HX25 Physician of the Year Award: Dr. Robert Cherry, MD, MS, FACS, FACHE, Chief Medical and Quality Officer, UCLA Health; Interim Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Quality Officer, UC Health; Los Angeles

The Physician of the Year award honors a distinguished medical professional who has exemplified exceptional leadership, compassionate care, and a dedication to improving the human experience in healthcare. Dr. Cherry is admired by his peers and colleagues for his drive to integrate patient experience, equity, and safety into the core of healthcare delivery. Responsible for system-wide quality improvement efforts, Dr. Cherry develops collaborative approaches to quality and value-based care for populations across the healthcare continuum, and coordinates innovative methods in the use of analytics, informatics, and advanced computational techniques that are designed to raise clinical quality, improve patient experience and provide value to patients.

HX25 CXO of the Year Award: Sunni Barnes, PhD, Vice President of Patient Experience and Survey/Quality Operations, Baylor Scott & White Health; Dallas

The CXO of the Year award honors an exceptional leader who has significantly advanced patient experience within healthcare, demonstrating innovative approaches, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to improving the quality of care and patient satisfaction. Under Dr. Barnes’s purview, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas with 51 hospitals and more than 800 patient care sites, has achieved consistent, year-over-year improvement in patient experience metrics at a time when many of their peers have struggled. Dr. Barnes has paved the way for the integration of new best practices in her organization with a blend of thoughtful and practical leadership. She has created and maintains a culture of high performance that engenders respect and buy-in.

HX25 Health System of the Year Award: Inova; Falls Church, VA

The Health System of the Year award honors an exceptional healthcare organization that has demonstrated a consistent commitment to excellence in patient care, community health, and innovation. Ranked and recognized as a national leader in safety, quality and patient experience, Inova is Northern Virginia’s leading non-profit healthcare provider. Inova’s innovative and industry-leading strategies to fully capture, analyze and act upon patient voice result not only in extraordinary outcomes in patient experience metrics and clinical and quality improvements, but also improvements to patient outcomes and healthcare accessibility.

HX25 HRO Foundation Award: Catholic Health; Rockville Centre, NY

The HRO Foundation Award recognizes outstanding healthcare organizations that have achieved significant improvements in patient safety. Catholic Health, located on Long Island, NY, started a journey to high reliability in 2015 with the development and implementation of the Catholic Health Daily Safety Principles, Causal Analysis Meetings, Safety Huddles, Rounding to Influence, and Safety Coach Programs across the continuum, under CEO Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s leadership. Thanks to these efforts, Catholic has been successful in decreasing and maintaining a significant reduction in SSERs (Serious Safety Event Reports) and remains committed to its goal of zero harm.

HX25 Nurse Leader of the Year Award: Michelle Feil, MSN, RN, Family Centered Care Program Manager at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania – Penn Medicine (HUP); Philadelphia

The Nurse Leader of the Year award is peer-nominated and recognizes an exceptional current or former nurse leader who has demonstrated a profound commitment to fostering a culture of excellence and supporting their team's success. Michelle Feil has spent over 20 years in various nursing leadership positions at HUP. Recently, she became HUP’s Interim Lead for Patient and Family Centered Care, which she assumed full-time leadership of in December. Within days of accepting the position on an interim basis, she had formulated a strategic plan for the department, based on 1:1 meetings with all existing employees and volunteers. Within months, volunteer engagement had significantly increased. In their nomination, Feil’s peers wrote that she has innate ability to connect with everyone she interacts with, and that she leads by example and with compassion, humility, and grace.

HX25 Frontline Nurse of the Year Award: Ron Mehaffy Jr., RN, Bone Marrow Transplant and ICU Nurse at Baylor Scott & White Health; Dallas

The Frontline Nurse of the Year award is also peer-nominated, honoring a frontline clinical nurse who has significantly impacted their patients' lives through their compassionate care and unwavering commitment to excellence. Ron Mehaffy Jr. has spent the entirety of his 27-year nursing career at Baylor Scott & White T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital in Dallas, with over 15 years in the transplant unit. His peers write that his approach to nursing is defined by his dedication to making his patients and their families feel seen, valued, heard, and actively involved in their care decisions. He is adept at tailoring communication of patient education to individual needs, ensuring that information is accessible and comprehensible.

About Press Ganey

Press Ganey partners with healthcare providers and health plans to improve the experiences of their patients and workforce by marrying data with unparalleled technology and expertise. Our HX platform unites and enlivens disparate data, enabling clients to gather, analyze, visualize, and act on key insights to retain employees and ensure the care journey is accessible, safe, equitable, and patient-centered. We are the trusted partner to over 41,000 healthcare provider organizations globally and 85% of health plans in the United States. Press Ganey is a PG Forsta company.

About PG Forsta

PG Forsta is a leading provider of experience measurement, data analytics and insights for healthcare and other complex industries. Our Press Ganey healthcare suite is the most widely adopted experience, clinical and safety solutions for providers, payers and life sciences organizations. Our Human Experience platform for enterprises, which includes an award-winning “voice of the customer” solution, powers the world’s leading brands and 9 out of 10 global market research agencies.

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