Press Ganey is a global leader in health care experience solutions and collaborates with more than 41,000 health care facilities to enhance overall safety, quality and experience of care.

This is the second year in a row that Press Ganey has awarded Cook Children’s with the Guardian of Excellence for Patient Experience award. Each of these awards reflect Cook Children’s dedication to experience for the entire Cook Children’s system.

“These awards really speak to our commitment to our people and to caring,” said Megan Chavez, Vice President of Cook Children's Experience. “It’s in the way we care. If you come here, health care doesn't feel so scary. You know that you're circled with people that want the best for your child and for you. If you’re a staff member or physician, you can focus on being your best, because you're surrounded by a team of people that want the best for you.”

The system analyzes feedback from patients, families and employees to determine areas that are impacting patients, families and employees the most. That analysis leads to highlighting areas that need focus and action.

For example, Chavez said as an organization, we doubled down on strengthening team dynamics this year. This was all about understanding what strong teamwork looks like for our patients and families, she said, and demonstrating to patients that staff are working together among themselves and alongside families to deliver care. For employees, internal teamwork has a huge impact on personal experience and creating a safe environment. For patients and families, seeing that teamwork amidst staff and being included in care collaboration makes a major difference in care experience.

“We know that we're exceptional at what we do from a clinical perspective,” Chavez said. “That is coupled with not only what we do, but how we do it; the way that we really honor the human experience in healthcare protects both the person giving the care as well as the person receiving the care.”

Patient Experience Champions, made up of a group of frontline staff, work to identify areas and behaviors to focus on for patients. For example, the Urgent Care Patient Experience Champions implemented the Ambulatory Experience Bundle, in which they pinpointed physician and staff behaviors that mean the most to families and patients in that setting.

Along with staff groups like the Patient Experience Champions, 17 Family Advisory Councils made up of parent volunteers help us understand parents’ perspectives. These volunteers also serve on committees to help bring that parent voice to what we do. Last year, a Hispanic Family Advisory Council and Task Force was established to understand what the Cook Children’s experience looks like when English isn't someone’s primary language. One of the tactics identified is that Spanish-speaking families interacted the most with Environmental Services staff and created a resource guide for those staff members to help support families in these conversations.

Employee Experience

The Employee Experience and Physician Employee Experience Awards exemplify Cook Children’s emphasis on supporting staff. As with patient experiences, “this comes from listening to our people,” Chavez said. We have experts from Team Experience, Human Resources, Employee Connections, Nursing Excellence, Physician Wellness, and others that collaborate together routinely to listen and make improvements on what matters most to our staff.

For example, in 2024, it was noted that negative situations between patients, family members and employees were a concern among staff. Because of this, work was done to analyze what causes a breakdown between providers and patients’ family members and implementing programs to ease those tensions. As a result, multi-disciplinary huddles were designed and implemented to intervene quickly and ensure not only patient family needs were addressed but that staff were being supported during these often stressful situations.

In addition, a refreshed perspective on compensation, enhanced benefits and leadership coaches that provided coaching to 44 leaders in 2024 were all in response to the feedback heard from staff. 

For physicians, Physician Wellness Advocates and our Information Services partners help identify what is or is not working well and integrate improvements, such as using AI to help document during a patient exam to allow the physician to do what they do best, which is be present with the patient instead of head down at a computer.

Overall, we are proud to have received these honors, which reflect our Promise to improve the well-being of every child in our care and our communities.

“This culture that we hear so much about, even in light of all the growth that we're experiencing, is what's going to really keep the flames of Cook Children’s lit and keep these blue peaks bright,” Chavez said. “And so we need to keep having our culture be our True North, and our values truly guide all of our decision making. And that only comes from listening to our people.”