Humanizing Healthcare

Fidelum Health
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Humanizing Healthcare is dedicated to sharing insights and best practices to make healthcare more human and fulfilling for all. With healthcare innovators and thought-leaders, we discuss how to better support everyone in the healthcare ecosystem: clinicians, patients, families, and the broader care team, to deliver experiences and outcomes that inspire lasting relationships.

  1. What Healthcare Leaders Miss When They've Never Been the Patient | Stephanie Abbott

    MAR 31

    What Healthcare Leaders Miss When They've Never Been the Patient | Stephanie Abbott

    In this episode of Humanizing Healthcare, we speak with Stephanie Abbott — author, speaker, and former Chief Experience Officer — about what healthcare leaders miss when they've only ever seen the system from the inside. Stephanie spent years leading patient experience strategy at major health systems, including Adventist Health. She understood patient experience intellectually. Then she became a cancer patient — and realized how much she didn't know. She shares what it felt like to spend 63 days not knowing if she would survive, and 83 days waiting to start treatment. She explains why those gaps weren't failures of compassion — they were failures of design. And why fixing them requires more than launching a new PX program. This conversation gets into the difference between measuring satisfaction and understanding trust, why employee experience and patient experience can't be separated, and what it actually takes for leaders to build systems where compassion is sustainable — not just expected. If you want to understand what humanizing healthcare really demands of its leaders, this is the episode. 🎧 Take a listen. Key Takeaways 02:50 Stephanie's path from healthcare operations to patient experience leadership 04:15 What becoming a cancer patient revealed that years of executive experience didn't 05:55 The 63 days, the 83 days, and what they say about system design 08:45 The difference between launching PX programs and actually transforming culture 12:45 Why employee experience sets the ceiling for patient experience 10:05 How leaders should be interpreting experience data and metrics 17:10 What healthcare needs to look like in the next 5–10 years 24:45 Stephanie's book: Buried or Planted Additional Resources Stephanie's book: Buried or Planted Additional Resources: Stephanie Abbott's book — Buried or Planted: https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Planted-Insights-Healthcare-Executives/dp/B0D4Q9QM78 Stephanie Abbott's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-s-abbott/ hxology: https://www.hxology.com/ Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7 Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/ Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/ ---- Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/ Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

    28 min
  2. Adopting Patient-Centered Outcome Measures with ICHOM CEO Jennifer Bright

    MAR 5

    Adopting Patient-Centered Outcome Measures with ICHOM CEO Jennifer Bright

    In this episode of Humanizing Healthcare, we speak with Jennifer Bright, CEO of International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), about what healthcare value really means and confront a question that challenges how most systems operate: Are we measuring what actually helps patients get better, or just what’s easy to count? Healthcare has become very good at tracking processes. But as Jennifer explains, many of the things we label as “outcomes” are actually tasks we do to or for patients. Screenings, follow-ups, time-to-needle. Important, yes. But they’re not results. Jennifer shares how ICHOM works with health systems around the world to define and use patient-centered outcome measures that reflect real results. She explains why survival alone does not tell the full story, why mental health and functional recovery matter, and why value must be defined by improvement in people’s lives. If we’re serious about humanizing healthcare, value has to mean improvement in people’s lives. This conversation pushes us to live up to that standard. 🎧 Take a listen. Key Takeaways Introduction (00:00) Jennifer’s personal journey into patient advocacy (02:43) From lived experience to healthcare system reform (06:27) What ICHOM does and how it was founded (09:04) Why measuring patient outcomes took so long (12:35) What measuring outcomes looks like in practice (19:04) Misconceptions about outcomes and what patients value (26:16) Additional Resources ICHOM website: https://www.ichom.org/ ICHOM LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-consortium-for-health-outcomes-measurement-ichom-/ Jennifer Bright’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbrightmhs/ ---- Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7 Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/ Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/ ---- Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/ Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

    40 min
  3. Delivering Person-Centered Care at Pacifica Salud w/ Rafael Cohen

    FEB 3

    Delivering Person-Centered Care at Pacifica Salud w/ Rafael Cohen

    We are pleased to share a new episode of Humanizing Healthcare featuring Rafael Cohen, Chief Executive Officer at Pacifica Salud Hospitals. In this conversation, Rafael shares how Pacifica Salud has built a culture of person-centered care rooted in leadership, dignity, and humanity, even in the most complex and high-pressure moments. From rethinking hospital environments to making courageous policy decisions during COVID-19, Rafael offers real-world examples of what it looks like when healthcare organizations put people first, not just in principle, but in practice. Together, we explore how values-driven leadership shapes patient experience, supports care teams, and leads to better outcomes for everyone involved. 🎧 Hit play to hear how leadership choices can transform care, especially when it matters most. Key Takeaways Introduction (00:00) Why Person-Centered Care Matters (02:05) Designing Healing Environments for Dignity (08:55) Policy Decisions That Changed Outcomes (11:45) Balancing Care, Community, and Global Patients (15:05) When Crisis Reveals Culture (23:20) Advice for Leaders: Humanity First (32:35) Additional Resources Guest: Rafael Cohen’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-cohen-1926901b/ — Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7 Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/ Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/ — Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/ Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

    34 min
  4. Patient Experience Agility: Preparing for Disruption & Change w/ Dwight McBee

    12/30/2025

    Patient Experience Agility: Preparing for Disruption & Change w/ Dwight McBee

    Dwight McBee is back for round two on the Humanizing Healthcare podcast, and we can assure you that you'll want to hear what he’s been up to. As Chief Experience Officer at RWJBarnabas Health, Dwight is leading some seriously bold work around making care more compassionate, more responsive, and more human. We discuss how he’s helping an entire health system listen in real time, how he views AI as a tool, and why the small, everyday moments are often the ones that matter most. Dwight shares the strategies that his team is using to make change last, why flashy new initiatives can be a trap, and how storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in a leader’s toolkit. 🎧 Hit play and get inspired by a leader who is living it. Key Takeaways Introduction (00:00) Dwight Mcbee's journey into healthcare (03:27) Technology and listening in healthcare (10:34) Sustaining patient experience initiatives (16:39) Magnifying the mundane (19:51) Balancing patient and provider experience (22:04) Future of the chief experience officer role (24:48) Advice for aspiring leaders (28:38) Additional Resources Dwight McBee’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwmcbee/ —- Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7 Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/ Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/ ---- Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/ Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

    38 min
  5. Transforming Hospitals With Patient & Family Advisory Councils w/ Barbara Lewis

    11/18/2025

    Transforming Hospitals With Patient & Family Advisory Councils w/ Barbara Lewis

    How do we make sure hospitals are truly listening to the people they serve? In this episode, I am joined by Jill Adolphe from Planetree to talk to Barbara Lewis, a powerhouse advocate for the patient voice and founder of Healthcare PX. What started as a personal tragedy for Barbara became a mission to elevate how hospitals engage with patients and families through PFACs (Patient and Family Advisory Councils). We discuss why PFACs too often become symbolic and how, with the right metrics and leadership support, they can become engines of real change. Barbara shares what the best-performing councils do differently, why measurement is everything, and how hospitals like Kaiser Permanente have set a gold standard. We also talk about the future of PFACs and why they must evolve alongside digital health, AI, and new care models. It’s also time healthcare catches up with other industries in valuing customer feedback. Barbara is the author of the book: The Marketing Success Book. Interested in researching hospital Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), she went back to school, obtaining a PhD from UNLV School of Public Health in 2025, where she currently teaches. Her dissertation was a mixed-method study on Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs). 🎧 Listen now and learn how to prove the value of the patient voice and PFACs! Key Takeaways Introduction (00:00) Barbara Lewis’s journey and research (01:17) Defining success for PFACs (05:51) Challenges and barriers in PFACs sustainability (08:39) Best practices for high-performing PFACs (10:43) Demonstrating financial and operational value in PFACs (11:34) Recruiting and retaining diverse PFAC members (15:04) Integrating PFACs into hospital governance (17:33) PFAC accelerators and outcomes (19:18) Future of PFACs and best practices (20:45) Q&A session (28:19) Additional Resources Healthcare PX Website: https://healthcarepx.org/ Barbara Lewis LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaralewisjfbr/ —- Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/ Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/ ---- Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/ Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

    42 min
  6. Laughing in the Face of Illness w/Jeremie Saunders

    11/08/2025 ·  BONUS

    Laughing in the Face of Illness w/Jeremie Saunders

    In this Humanizing Healthcare Live episode, we talk with Jeremie Saunders, Patient Advocate and C-Founder of the SickBoy podcast, about Laughing in the Face of Illness. Recorded at the 2025 Planetree Person-Centered Care Forum in Baltimore, MD on October 7, 2025.

    34 min
  7. The Urgency of Connective Labor & Human Value in the Age of AI w/ Allison Pugh

    11/08/2025 ·  BONUS

    The Urgency of Connective Labor & Human Value in the Age of AI w/ Allison Pugh

    In this Humanizing Healthcare Live episode, we talk with Allsion Pugh, Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, about how the Urgency of Connective Labor & Human Value in the Age of AI. Recorded at the 2025 Planetree Person-Centered Care Forum in Baltimore, MD on October 6, 2025.

    34 min
  8. Advocating for Patient Centered Care Through Health Equity w/ Edison Bond

    11/08/2025 ·  BONUS

    Advocating for Patient Centered Care Through Health Equity w/ Edison Bond

    In this Humanizing Healthcare Live episode, we talk with Edison Bond, Chief Experience Officer at Episcopal Health Services, about how they Advocate for Patient-Centered Care Through Health Equity. Recorded at the 2025 Planetree Person-Centered Care Forum in Baltimore, MD on October 6, 2025.

    32 min
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About

Humanizing Healthcare is dedicated to sharing insights and best practices to make healthcare more human and fulfilling for all. With healthcare innovators and thought-leaders, we discuss how to better support everyone in the healthcare ecosystem: clinicians, patients, families, and the broader care team, to deliver experiences and outcomes that inspire lasting relationships.

Information

  • Creator
    Fidelum Health
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Fidelum Health 2023
  • Show Website
    Humanizing Healthcare