We are honored to welcome filmmaker Steve Burrows, director of the acclaimed HBO documentary Bleed Out, to the Tenth Annual Patient Experience Symposium. Burrows’ deeply personal story, sparked by a tragic medical error involving his mother, has helped ignite a national conversation about transparency, accountability, and the urgent need to improve patient safety in healthcare. His work challenges healthcare leaders to confront difficult truths and advance meaningful change.
Home
Ten Years. One Community.
A Decade Advancing the Patient Experience Together
Join the community shaping how healthcare listens, connects, and delivers care.
The 10th Annual Patient Experience Symposium marks an important milestone: ten years of shared learning, candid dialogue, and practical innovation. What began as a focused conversation has grown into a trusted national forum of leaders committed to elevating the human experience at the center of care.
Early Booking Incentive
Special Offer for First 50 to Register
Early Bird Savings and Lock In $279/Night in Boston!
The first fifty attendees who register for the conference and book their hotel stay at the host hotel, The Colonnade, within the official group block by May 15, 2026, will receive a rebate of $100 off for each night stayed, for up to three nights (maximum savings of $300 beyond the early bird savings). The official group rate at The Colonnade is available for up to three nights before or after the conference dates, should you wish to extend your stay in Boston.
A routine surgery. A life forever changed. A fight for the truth.
What happens when healthcare doesn’t tell the truth - and a family refuses to accept it?
Call for Submissions
Rapid-Fire Sessions: 6-Minute to Accelerate Change
In this dynamic Rapid-Fire Session, six innovative presenters will take the stage to deliver high-impact, 6-minute presentations, each offering fresh insights on the key forces shaping the future of experience. Designed to surface diverse perspectives in a fast-moving format, these sessions bring together leaders from across healthcare to share bold ideas.
Accepted presenters will receive a 25% registration discount.
Trusted for a Reason
“Powerful sessions on kindness, trust, humility, and what truly matters to patients. I’m bringing these insights directly back to the nursing teams I lead to elevate our patient experience.”
“I left with actionable strategies I could implement right away to improve the patient experience.”
“A rare balance of lived experience and measurable action. Truly impactful.”
“As a healthcare leader, I appreciated that sponsors were integrated into the conference rather than separated in a vendor hall. It fostered meaningful discussions and more strategic partnerships.”
From Personal Loss to Purpose-Driven Change
Why Leaders Keep Coming Back
- 1
Technology and Innovation
Harness the power of technology and innovation to streamline processes, improve access to care, and enhance the overall patient experience - 2
Equity and Inclusion
Promote health equity and inclusion to enable access, enhance outcomes, and uphold the dignity and rights of all persons in the healthcare ecosystem - 3
Team Well-being and Engagement
Prioritize staff and clinician well-being while nurturing team behaviors around communication and coordination to enhance patient experience - 4
Value-Based Care and Measurement
Define and measure “value” by focusing on the health and experience outcomes that matter most to patients, while optimizing clinical outcomes, reducing errors, managing costs, and fostering a culture of safety and excellence - 5
Communication and Trust
Cultivate empathy and strengthen communication skills to build trust, rapport, and meaningful connections among patients, families, and healthcare teams
Agenda
Tuesday, October 7
Monday, September 28
- 8:30 am - 11:30 am
Pre-Conference Workshops
Three amazing opportunities to kick-start your experience.
- 12:45 pm - 12:50 pm
Welcoming Remarks
- 1:40 pm - 2:20 pm
Stop Chasing Satisfaction
Clinical Leaders Building Cultures of Safety, Quality, and Real Patient Experience - 2:20 pm - 3:00 pm
Role of Patients in an AI World
- 3:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Networking Break
- 3:20 pm - 3:55 pm
Pursuing 100,000 Extraordinary Experiences through a Human Centered and Partnered Strategy
Extraordinary healthcare requires a shift from viewing patients as data points to treating them as essential members of the care team. In this session, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital reveals a strategic plan designed to achieve 100,000 more “Extraordinary Experiences” by FY28. Dr. Samuel Hanke will demonstrate how a human-centered framework, built on being Playful, Personal, Partnered, and Profound, traditional clinical interactions into defining moments.
- Apply a human-centered framework (Playful, Personal, Partnered, Profound) to elevate everyday clinical interactions
- Identify practical strategies to engage patients and families as active partners in care delivery
- Translate experience goals into measurable actions that drive “extraordinary” outcomes across the organization
- 4:20 pm - 5:00 pm
Truth or Consequences
What Happens When Healthcare Doesn’t Tell the TruthAfter a routine hip replacement leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, filmmaker Steve Burrows begins documenting a decade-long journey through the hidden realities of the American healthcare system.
What starts as a son’s video diary becomes a powerful investigation into medical harm, institutional silence, and the urgent need for transparency when things go wrong in healthcare.
In this compelling presentation, Burrows, writer and director of the award-winning HBO documentary Bleed Out, shares the deeply personal story behind the film and the systemic failures it exposes. Through raw footage, firsthand experience, and hard-won insights, he challenges healthcare leaders to confront uncomfortable truths about accountability, communication, and the role patients and families must play in safeguarding care.
This session is both a cautionary tale and a call to action for healthcare leaders committed to building a culture where honesty, transparency, and patient partnership are non-negotiable.
- Recognize the essential role of patients and families as partners in the patient experience.
- Examine the core pillars of patient safety culture including transparency, accountability, and open communication when harm occurs.
- Understand the real-world consequences of institutional silence and the impact that lack of transparency can have on patients, families, and public trust in healthcare.
- 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Opening Night Reception in Sponsor Showcase
Tuesday, September 29
- 8:15 am - 8:30 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
- 8:30 am - 9:15 am
PANEL Keep Calm & Care On
Patient Experience in the Real WorldHealthcare has always been complex, but today it can feel like the industry is balancing compassion, compliance, and chaos all at once. This candid and energizing panel brings together Patient Experience Leaders from diverse care environments, including urban academic systems, community hospitals, and rural health organizations, to discuss what it really takes to deliver exceptional patient experiences when pressures on healthcare have never been greater.
Together, these leaders will tackle the realities many teams face today: maintaining a culture of hospitality and respect amid rising workplace violence; supporting caregivers as global events and societal tensions impact morale; navigating the presence of outside authorities in care environments; preparing for ongoing regulatory scrutiny; responding to shifting community expectations and evolving public trust; and sustaining empathy and human connection while many organizations operate under significant financial strain.
While the challenges are real, the tone of this conversation will be anything but heavy. Through honesty, humor, and practical wisdom from leaders living this work every day, the panel will foster authentic dialogue and shared learning.
This open, no-script conversation will invite audience participation and explore how leaders protect compassion, support caregivers, and keep the heart of healthcare beating during turbulent times.
- Identify key external and internal pressures impacting patient experience, including workforce challenges, safety concerns, regulatory scrutiny, and evolving community expectations.
- Explore leadership strategies for supporting caregivers and sustaining a culture of empathy, hospitality, and respect during times of organizational and societal stress.
- Examine practical approaches used by healthcare organizations to maintain trust, strengthen patient engagement, and deliver meaningful experiences despite financial and operational constraints.
- 10:00 am - 10:15 am
Facilitated Roundtable Discussions
As a unique element of the symposium, delegates will engage in interactive roundtable discussions. A “PX Host” will guide each roundtable group to enable meaningful exchanges. Attendees will form connections, exchange ideas, and share goals for attending the symposium.
- 10:15 am - 10:35 am
Networking Break in Sponsor Showcase
- 10:35 am - 11:10 amChoose From Two Concurrent Tracks:
- 10:35 am - 11:10 am
TRACK A High-Yield Patient Experience Solutions: The Top 10!
Delivering an excellent patient experience is directly tied to improving care quality, safety, outcomes, and the well-being of the healthcare workforce. Yet many organizations still struggle to turn this understanding into meaningful, lasting change.
This practical and engaging session will explore the connection between patient experience, clinical excellence, and caregiver burnout, and how progress in one area can positively impact the others. Drawing from real-world examples and proven research, we will highlight the factors that shape the patient experience across the care journey.
The focus will be on action. Using an interactive Top 10 format, attendees will leave with clear, evidence-based strategies that can be applied immediately to improve both patient and staff experience. Whether you are leading system-wide initiatives or working on the front lines, this session will provide practical tools to create a more connected, supportive, and effective care environment.
- Appreciate the inexorable links between high quality patient care, excellent patient experience, and improved staff satisfaction.
- Understand the most important causative factors contributing to patient and staff experience.
- Identify high-yield, systems-based interventions aimed at improving patient and staff experience in their own EDs.
- 10:35 am - 11:10 am
TRACK B Reimagining Primary Care
A Hybrid, Direct-Contracted Model for Health Systems and EmployersHigh-performing health systems are built on primary care. In the U.S., however, less than 5% of healthcare dollars are allocated to primary care, far below what peer nations spend. Leading institutions have warned that primary care in the US is in crisis, even as decades of research confirm it drives better health outcomes, lower costs, and overall improved community health and wellness.
This session introduces Rezilient Health’s novel, hybrid primary care model, delivered through direct contracting and built to partner with health systems, not compete with them. Attendees will learn how this scalable, tech-enabled approach creates a seamless, integrated, primary-care-first solution that improves access, clinical outcomes and patient experience, while lowering costs. This model, as participants will discover, strengthens local care infrastructure, and creates a sustainable path forward for employers, hospitals, and the communities they serve.
- Understand how a hybrid, provider-led, medic-enabled, concierge-like primary care model improves access, patient experience, and clinical outcomes through technology and operational design.
- Examine how a primary-care-first strategy delivered through direct contracting benefits hospitals, employers, and patients without fragmenting care.
- Explore the direct care contracting movement, including its economic advantages, implementation considerations, and why employers and municipalities are increasingly adopting this approach.
-
- 11:15 am - 11:50 amChoose From Two Concurrent Tracks:
- 11:15 am - 11:50 am
TRACK A Beyond the Test Result
Turning Respiratory Diagnostics into Better Conversations and Shared DecisionsAdvances in molecular diagnostics are transforming how respiratory infections are detected and treated, but test results alone do not improve care. How clinicians communicate those results and involve patients in decisions plays a critical role in trust, satisfaction, and appropriate antibiotic use.
In this session, Dr. Steven Goldberg will explore how molecular diagnostic insights, including PCR and multiplex testing, can be integrated into shared decision-making to support more collaborative, patient-centered respiratory care. Drawing on peer-reviewed research and real-world clinical experience, he will share practical communication strategies that help patients understand test results, participate in treatment decisions, and align care with their preferences and values. Delegates will leave with actionable approaches to strengthen shared decision-making and enhance the patient experience in everyday respiratory care, particularly in ambulatory and urgent care settings.
- Explain how molecular diagnostics (e.g., PCR testing) inform clinical decisions and support patient-centered respiratory care.
- Apply shared decision-making principles to incorporate diagnostic results into collaborative treatment planning.
- Use communication strategies that translate complex diagnostic information into clear guidance while promoting responsible antibiotic use and patient safety.
- 11:15 am - 11:50 am
TRACK B The Next Competitive Advantage in Healthcare
Lessons from the World’s Most Trusted BrandsPANEL
Healthcare has spent decades benchmarking itself against internal standards. Yet the industries that have mastered loyalty, personalization, and trust operate far beyond hospital walls. From luxury hospitality to global consumer brands, these organizations have built systems that consistently deliver human-centered experiences, even in high-stress, high-stakes moments.This dynamic panel brings together leaders from best-in-class service sectors to explore what healthcare can realistically adopt now. Through real-world examples and candid discussion, panelists will share how they recover from failure, personalize at scale, and train frontline teams to embody brand trust. Attendees will leave with practical frameworks and fresh perspective on how to translate proven service models into clinical, payer, and care delivery environments to strengthen relationships, rebuild trust, and create lasting loyalty.
- Apply proven service recovery frameworks to rebuild trust after experience failures
- Adapt personalization strategies from leading brands into scalable healthcare environments
- Embed frontline behaviors and leadership practices that sustain loyalty and trust
-
- 11:55 am - 12:30 pm
TRACK A Digital Transformation as a Driver of “N of 1” Experiences
Healthcare organizations have invested billions in digital transformation, but patients still experience friction. Why?
This executive session explores how payers and providers can move beyond portals and apps to deliver digitally enabled, N-of-1 personalized experiences where every interaction reflects an individual’s needs, behaviors, and context. The discussion will focus on aligning digital investments across organizations to eliminate fragmentation and create seamless journeys.
- Distinguish between digital modernization and meaningful digital experience
- Identify common breakdowns in payer-provider digital handoffs
- Apply governance and data-sharing models that enable seamless patient journeys
- Measure ROI on digital investments through experience, engagement, and outcomes
- 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Lunch in Sponsor Showcase
- 2:00 pm - 2:35 pmChoose From Two Concurrent Tracks:
- 2:00 pm - 2:35 pm
TRACK A Reimagining Prevention
A Scalable Model Powered by Opioid Settlement FundingHospitals are under growing pressure to improve patient outcomes while addressing workforce strain and opioid risk. This session introduces the Life Care Specialist (LCS) model, a scalable, patient-centered solution funded through opioid settlement dollars. By integrating patient education, whole-person support, and post-discharge connection to care, the LCS closes high-risk care gaps, reduces unnecessary opioid exposure, and strengthens clinical team capacity. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for deploying settlement funds into measurable, sustainable impact.
- Learn how the LCS model fits into existing clinical workflows to reduce strain on staff and improve pain support for patients.
- Target critical transition points where patients fall through the cracks and activate the LCS to improve continuity and outcomes.
- Maximize LCS impact in both urban and rural settings with tailored strategies that address distinct operational realities.
-
- 2:40 pm - 3:15 pm
TRACK B Joy, Learning, and Trust
Building Trust One Patient Story at a TimePatients often say what matters most in a single sentence. Those moments can carry more weight than any dashboard. This session explores a simple but powerful practice: selecting one meaningful patient comment each month for every department and pairing it with a clear teachable moment that reinforces the behavior or process behind an exceptional experience. What started as a way to share encouragement has become a practical approach to strengthening high reliability, reinforcing just culture, and supporting clinician wellbeing.
You will also hear how a Provider Council Physician Assistant brought this to life by hand delivering patient comments directly to providers, creating authentic connection in a way that feels personal and meaningful. At its core, this session focuses on building trust. Trust with patients. Trust with clinicians. Trust within teams working to deliver excellent care in a complex and imperfect system.
- Turn patient comments into practical, repeatable “micro-lessons” that improve care experiences in real time
- Implement a simple monthly process to share meaningful feedback with clinical leaders and frontline teams
- Strengthen high reliability by reinforcing consistent, person-centered behaviors across teams
- Enhance clinician engagement and wellbeing by making patient gratitude visible, personal, and actionable
- 3:15 pm - 3:35 am
Networking Break in Sponsor Showcase
- 3:35 pm - 4:15 pm
PANEL Engagement and Measurement to Confidence and Outcomes
Rebuilding Trust Across the Care ContinuumHealth plan member trust is eroding, reflected in declining CAHPS scores. Rising administrative complexity, fragmented communication, surprise bills, and inconsistent follow-through across the care continuum have created an experience gap that patients feel at every touchpoint. Improving trust requires more than lifting a single survey metric; it demands coordinated, cross-sector action that aligns hospital systems, health plans, and community partners around a seamless experience.
This panel brings together hospital leaders and payer executives to explore how trust is built (or broken) across the care journey, from access and discharge to billing and follow-up. Panelists will share practical strategies for improving CAHPS performance while strengthening long-term trust, particularly in high-risk and vulnerable populations.
- Identify the key drivers of trust reflected in CAHPS and related experience measures
- Understand how payer and provider interactions influence patient perceptions
- Implement cross-organizational approaches to reduce friction in transitions of care
- Align operational, communication, and experience strategies to drive measurable improvement
- 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Project Pivot
Advancing Patient Safety Through CMS and Patient-Reported Data
Wednesday, September 30
- 9:10 am - 9:45 am
Transforming Safety at Scale: Insights from the National Movement
- 10:10 am - 10:45 am
Patient Experience-Lessons from the Flight Deck
Taxi, Take-Off, Flight Plans & LandingEvery survey of the top concerns of “C-Suite” members in healthcare lists patient experience at the top. Everyone knows that it is important, but everyone is struggling with why and how to get there. One of the most appropriate and powerful metaphors comes from the speaker’s experience of having served on naval aircraft carriers and the lessons which can be learned from how naval and Marine aviation serves important lessons for patient experience. Thom Mayer details how patient experience follows a “Taxi, Take-Off, Flight Plans, and Landings” sequence, just as aviators do. Concrete examples of applying this are provided.
- Articulate a clear, operational definition of patient experience that leaders can act on immediately
- Establish the strategic “why” behind patient experience as a prerequisite for sustainable execution
- Apply the “Taxi, Take-Off, Flight Plans, and Landings” framework to diagnose and improve the patient journey
- Translate aviation-based principles into practical, real-world actions that measurably improve patient care
- 11:20 am - 12:00 pm
The Future of Patient Experience
CMS Priorities for Transparency, Digital Health, and Patient-Centered Care
Workshops
Monday, September 28
Monday, September 28
- 8:30 am - 10:00 amChoose From Two Concurrent Workshops
- 8:30 am - 10:00 am
WORKSHOP A Building Loving Systems
Practical Leadership Tools to Transform Patient ExperiencePatient experience challenges are rarely the result of individual failure. More often, they are symptoms of system design. Communication breakdowns, inconsistent feedback, and unclear accountability structures create friction for staff and can erode patient trust.
This interactive workshop introduces three systems-based leadership approaches that leading organizations are using to strengthen culture and improve patient experience: Loving Communication, Loving Feedback, and Loving Accountability. Rather than asking people to simply try harder, the session focuses on how organizations can embed dignity, clarity, and accountability into workflows, governance, and daily operations.
Participants will leave with practical tools, useful language, and clear next steps they can implement within their teams and organizations. The workshop is designed to move beyond inspiration and into implementation, equipping leaders with actionable strategies to improve workforce stability, strengthen execution, and advance patient experience outcomes.
- Explain why patient experience outcomes are driven by system design, not individual effort alone
- Identify key elements of Loving Communication, Loving Feedback, and Loving Accountability systems
- Apply a structured framework to redesign one communication, feedback, or accountability process in their organization; and commit to a measurable 30-day implementation step
- 8:30 am - 10:00 am
WORKSHOP B The Invisible Co-Author
Preserving Trust, Safety, and Human Connection in the Age of AIArtificial intelligence is already shaping the patient experience, embedded in triage, documentation, discharge, and communication tools. While AI may inform care, clinicians and leaders remain accountable for how that care is delivered and experienced.
This interactive workshop examines how AI is influencing patient interactions, where risks to empathy, accuracy, and equity can emerge, and how to respond in real time. Through interdisciplinary case scenarios, participants will identify where AI is at work and how it impacts trust and communication.
Conference participants will apply the AI Safety Pause™, a practical framework to evaluate AI-informed outputs, strengthen clinical judgment, and ensure care remains patient-centered and ethically grounded. Designed for clinical and operational leaders, this session delivers actionable strategies to preserve the human experience of care in an AI-enabled environment.
- Recognize where and how artificial intelligence influences the patient experience across clinical and operational settings
- Examine the impact of AI on trust, communication, and perceived quality of care
- Apply the AI Safety Pause™ to evaluate AI-informed outputs in real-time decision-making
- Identify risks such as bias, miscommunication, and overreliance that may negatively affect patient experience
- Implement strategies to maintain human connection, accountability, and patient-centered care in AI-supported environments
-
- 10:00 am - 11:30 am
WORKSHOP C Deep Dive into the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade
Speakers
Speakers
Laura Adams
Senior Advisor
National Academy of Medicine
Josh M. Berlin, JD
CEO
rule of three, LLC
Josh M. Berlin brings more than 25 years of experience serving clients and leading teams, most of which in healthcare advisory, bringing that expertise to rule of three, LLC as its CEO. He has been privileged to hold previous leadership roles at KPMG, IBM Watson Health, Dixon Hughes Goodman (now Forvis Mazars), and Citrin Cooperman. Both his current role and previous roles have presented opportunities to bring unconventional thinking to his clients, while supporting dynamic teams, across the full healthcare ecosystem (Providers, Plans, Employers, Governments, Advocacy, etc.). Currently, he serves on the Boards of vital.io, Validation Institute, the Population Health Management Journal, and HealthTrackRx.
Greg F. Burke, MD FACP
Chief Patient Experience Officer
Geisinger Health
Dr. Burke graduated from Jefferson Medical College (magna cum laude) in 1988 and completed an internal medicine residency and chief residency at Thomas Jeffeson University Hospital prior to joining the Geisinger Clinic in 1992 as an associate in General Internal Medicine. He has served in a number of leadership roles including Chief Patient Experience Officer for Geisinger Health since 2014 and Medical Director of the Geisinger Skilled Nursing Facility Program since 2018. He has served a Medical Director at Geisinger Encompass since 2006. He has won numerous awards for top performance in patient experience, including three times for the highest performance score for clinicians in the Geisinger Health system. Other roles have included department directorship, health plan technology assessment and ethics committee membership. He continues in clinical practice
Steve Burrows
Writer/Director/Fimmaker
HBO’s acclaimed documentary BLEED OUT
Steve Burrows is a comedic storyteller — a writer, director and performer who has been entertaining audiences in film, television, commercials and theatre for 25 years. In 2009, in a complete career 180°, Burrows dropped out of Show Business to take care of his mother, who had gone in for a routine partial hip replacement and came out in a coma with permanent brain damage. For real. The insane years that followed — fighting for his Mom's life and for medical and legal justice - became Burrows latest feature, the award-winning, critically acclaimed HBO documentary film: "Bleed Out." Currently, Burrows is working on several feature film and television projects. In honor of his Mom, he has also become a fierce patient safety activist.
Steve Burrows, ,
Hugo Campos
Patient Advocate
I grew up in Rio de Janeiro and moved to San Francisco in 1990, where I built a career in digital design and technology. My life took a different turn when I was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and received an implantable defibrillator.
That experience transformed me into a patient advocate. I’ve been honored by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change for Precision Medicine and now serve on the NIH All of Us Research Program, PCORI’s THRIVE Trial, and the advisory board of UCSF/UC Berkeley’s Computational Precision Health program.
What sets me apart is not just my advocacy, but how I live it. I use generative AI daily to manage my own health and my father’s care. My work sits at the intersection of personal experience, critical thinking, and the philosophy of patient autonomy.
Brian Carlson
Vice President of Patient Experience
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Brian currently serve as Vice President of Patient Experience for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Brian joined Vanderbilt in 2007 as Administrator of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute. Prior to Vanderbilt he served as CEO/COO of a multi-specialty physician group practice in Western New York and started his professional career at Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation in Chicago.
In his current role, he is strategically and operationally responsible for institutional performance on service programming and metrics. Operationally he has direct oversight to Guest Services, Patient Relations, Service Consulting and Center for EMS Excellence. Strategically he advises on institutional patient experience goals and improvement, employee engagement, culture, and patient engagement programs, including on-line patient portal My Health at Vanderbilt.
Grace Cordovano, PhD, BCPA
Founder
Enlightening Results
Dr. Grace Cordovano, PhD, BCPA, is an internationally recognized patient advocate and founder of Enlightening Results, a personalized advocacy firm specializing in oncology, rare, and catastrophic cases. For more than 25 years, she has helped patients and care partners navigate some of the most complex moments in healthcare—from survivorship to end-of-life planning—with empathy, clarity, and medically credible guidance. Widely known for “navigating the unnavigable,” Dr. Cordovano is a leading voice in patient rights, health equity, digital health, and the responsible use of AI in care navigation. She also co-founded Unblock Health, which empowers patients to access and correct their electronic health information. A board-certified patient advocate with a PhD in Biochemistry from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, she serves in national leadership roles across interoperability, techquit
Susan Deane, EdD, MSN, CNE, RN
Co-founder
Nurses for AI
Dr. Susan Deane is a nationally recognized nurse educator, consultant, and thought leader in artificial intelligence and technology integration in nursing education and practice. With more than 25 years in nursing education, she previously served as Dean and Professor of the School of Nursing at SUNY Delhi, where she led innovative academic-practice partnerships and advanced virtual and technology-enhanced learning initiatives.
Dr. Deane specializes in AI competency development, faculty preparation, curriculum innovation, and nurse leadership in AI governance. She holds an AI Educator Certification from Auburn University and San Diego State University and a post-master’s certificate in Healthcare Informatics. Her work focuses on ensuring artificial intelligence enhances clinical judgment, while promoting ethical integrity, equity, and human-centered care.
Dave deBronkart
Author and Patient Engagement Advocate
Dave deBronkart, known on the internet as e-Patient Dave, is the author of the highly rated Let Patients Help: A Patient Engagement Handbook and one of the world’s leading advocates for patient engagement. After beating stage IV kidney cancer in 2007 he became a blogger, health policy advisor and international keynote speaker. An accomplished speaker in his professional life before cancer, he is today the best-known spokesman for the patient engagement movement, attending over 650 conferences and policy meetings in 26 countries, including testifying in Washington for patient access to the medical record under Meaningful Use.
Alexandra Drane
Co-Founder and CEO
ARCHANGELS
Alexandra is co-founder and CEO of ARCHANGELS — a women-owned, public benefit corporation and omni-channel platform shamelessly hustling to make change happen for the 43% of adults across our nation serving as unpaid caregivers. ARCHANGELS engages and supports caregivers across all 50 states through partnerships with employers, consumer brands, health-plans/systems, communities, and states.
Alex co-founded Rebel Health, Eliza Corporation (acquired by HMS Holdings Corp: HMSY, now Cotiviti), Engage with Grace, and three other companies (all boot-strapped). A serial entrepreneur ever looking for opportunities to connect with people, She believes communities are the frontline of health, that caregivers are our country’s greatest asset, and that we need to expand the definition of health to include life.
Kathleen Ellmore
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Engagys
Kathleen Ellmore is one of the earliest pioneers in bringing the best of consumer marketing and data-driven methodologies to healthcare. Instead of getting you to eat when you are not hungry and buy things you don’t need, Kathleen uses the same strategies to instead change the health equation in America. Kathleen previously led the Consumer Engagement consulting practice for Welltok (formerly Silverlink) for 12 years, leveraging its data repository of over a billion consumer health interactions, the best of behavioral economics, and the latest in clinical research, to create evidenced-based communications on what works to drive consumer healthcare behavior yielding better outcomes and lower costs.
Robert Fields
EVP, Chief Clinical Officer
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Dr. Robert Fields is a family medicine physician and EVP, Chief Clinical Officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health, a Harvard-affiliated 14-hospital system in Boston. He leads systemwide efforts in quality and safety, as well as strategy and operations across primary care, behavioral health, lab, pharmacy, and home health, including hospital-at-home programs. He also oversees the 1115 Medicaid waiver response and directs managed care and population health strategy.
Dr. Fields began his career as an independent primary care physician serving underserved Latino communities in Western North Carolina. After launching one of the state’s first successful value-based networks, he joined Mount Sinai, where he became Chief Population Health Officer, overseeing population health and managed care for the $9B system. In 2023, he joined Beth Israel Lahey Health as its first EVP and Chief Clinical Officer,
Amy Gleason
Acting Administrator
U.S. DOGE Service
Amy Gleason is the Acting Administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and Strategic Advisor to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where she leads national initiatives to modernize healthcare technology and improve data interoperability. Previously, she served as Chief Product Officer at Russell Street Ventures, where she led digital health innovation at Main Street Health and CareBridge. Amy also served with the U.S. Digital Service at the White House, where she created the national COVID-19 database and led major efforts such as the Pandemic Ready Interoperable Modernization Effort (PRIME) and Data at the Point of Care.
Steven Goldberg, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer
HealthTrackRx
Steven Goldberg, MD, MBA, is a nationally recognized healthcare leader, named one of Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential in Healthcare” in 2020—ranked #39 for his leadership of employee health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Known for his energetic presence, clarity of communication, and rigorous attention to detail, Dr. Goldberg is widely regarded as a thoughtful and collaborative voice in the advancement of healthcare delivery. Dr. Goldberg currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of HealthTrackRx, the nation’s leader in outpatient infectious disease diagnostics with next-morning PCR results.
Apurv Gupta, MD, MPH
Co-Founder & Board Member
A Loving Organization Consortium
Dr. Gupta is an expert in driving transformational change for leading healthcare systems. He is a thought leader in physician engagement, change management, quality transformation, and leadership development. He coaches and mentors healthcare leaders to help them lead transformation efforts for their organizations. An Internal Medicine physician by training, he has held positions as Medical Director, Chief Medical Officer, Vice President of Network Performance Improvement, and Director of Care Transformation. Deeply committed to values of compassion, trust, and growth mindset, he is an innovator and champion for staff empowerment. One prominent example is his pioneering work in developing A Loving Organization model to help create sustainable and profitable organizations through a loving systems based approach.
Sam Hanke
Chief Patient and Family Experience Officer and Associate Professor of Pediatric Cardiology
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Dr. Sam Hanke is the Chief Patient and Family Experience Officer and an Associate Professor of Pediatric Cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. A specialist in treating infants and children with complex congenital heart disease, Dr. Hanke leverages his clinical expertise and training in quality improvement science to lead large-scale efforts in family-centered care.
Carole Keohane, MS, RN
Senior Vice President, Chief Quality and Safety Officer
South Shore Health
Thom Mayer, MD
Former Medical Director
National Football League
Thom Mayer, MD, is a prominent figure in the fields of emergency medicine, sports medicine, and leadership in times of crisis. He has built a distinguished career focused on athlete health, safety, and emergency response, making significant contributions to both clinical practice and medical education.
Dr. Mayer has served as a medical director for various professional sports teams and events, including the NFL Players Association, where he has played a crucial role in developing and implementing protocols for player safety and injury management. His expertise has been instrumental in advancing the understanding of concussion management and emergency care in sports. He has worked closely with athletes, coaches, and medical teams to enhance the overall safety of participants in high-risk sports. He was recently nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
Danish Nagda
Founder
Rezilient
Danish is a pioneering physician-entrepreneur whose career combines clinical expertise with transformative technology innovation. His journey from creating one of the world's most successful learning platforms to practicing medicine demonstrates an exceptional ability to identify systemic challenges and develop scalable solutions that impact millions of lives globally.
Danish's educational foundation was established at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where he developed the clinical knowledge and patient-centered perspective that would later inform his entrepreneurial ventures. He completed his ENT residency at Washington University in St. Louis, bringing both the rigor of medical training and the empathy of direct patient care to his work, experiences that are further deepened by his personal role as a caregiver for his father.
Zeev Neuwirth, MD
Head of Strategic Partnerships & Network Development
Rezilient Health
Dr. Zeev Neuwirth is a healthcare executive with over 15 years of clinical experience as an internal medicine physician and nearly 20 years of experience in clinical operations, population health and strategic services. He most recently served as the CEO of a Medicaid Managed Care Organization. Prior to that he served in a number of roles at Atrium Health (now Advocate Health) including Chief of Clinical Care Transformation, Senior Medical Director of Population Health, Chief Clinical Executive for the Medical Group, and Chief Medical Officer for the Medical Group.
In 2017, Zeev launched an award-winning podcast, 'Creating a New Healthcare'. This podcast has over 200 posts and is one of the longest lasting healthcare industry podcasts.
Jeremy Segall, MA, RDT, LCAT, FPCC
Jeremy Segall, MA, RDT, LCAT, FPCC is the inaugural System Chief Wellness Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal public healthcare system in the nation. He currently oversees the human experience continuum for the entire enterprise, including employee well-being response efforts and engagement strategy, governing the system’s wellness programming, person-centered care certification, and care experience portfolios consisting of the system's customer service values. He coordinated the Healing Education Resilience and Opportunity for New York’s Frontline Workforce (HERO-NY) Taskforce bringing together the US Department of Defense, VA, USUHS, DOHMH, GNYHA, and FDNY to create a training series addressing resilience to be adapted for civilian audiences. The HERO-NY training has spread to 43 countries, 5 continents, and has trained over 120,000+ global healthcare workers
Sue Sheridan, MIM, MBA, DHL
Founding Member
Patients For Patient Safety
Benjamin White
Director of Patient Experience
Mass General Brigham Emergency Medicine
Laura Wilt
Chief Digital Officer
Sutter Health
Cammie Wolf Rice
CEO
Christopher Wolf Crusade
After losing her son Christopher to opioid misuse at just 32 years old, Cammie Wolf Rice channeled her grief into action, founding CWC Alliance in 2018 and publishing her story, The Flight: My Opioid Journey, in 2022. Through CWC Alliance, she created the Life Care Specialist (LCS) role: a first-of-its-kind position in healthcare to address the critical gap that failed Christopher, making sure patients receive trauma-informed pain management and substance use prevention as part of their care. This approach has since been adopted in hospitals across the country, was selected as the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, and was named the top recommendation by Georgia’s 2024 House Study Committee on Alternatives to Opioids.
Stay & Explore
Accommodations
The Colonnade
Stay on-site at the conference location
The Colonnade has provided thoughtful hospitality to Boston visitors and residents for more than 50 years. A dynamic Back Bay landmark whose opening launched the neighborhood’s renaissance in the early 1970s, The Colonnade is home to the city’s only rooftop pool.
10th Anniversary Leadership Circle
Honoring a Decade of Commitment to Patient Experience - Limited to the First 50 that Register
As we mark ten years of bringing together leaders dedicated to advancing patient-centered care, we are recognizing the first 50 individuals who commit early to joining us in Boston.
The first 50 attendees who:
• Register for the Symposium
• Reserve their room at The Colonnade Hotel within the official group block
by May 15, 2026, will receive a $100 rebate per night stayed, for up to three nights.
That is up to $300 in additional savings, in addition to our best registration rates.
The group rate at The Colonnade is available for up to three nights before and after the conference, giving you additional time to connect with colleagues and reflect on the work ahead. This recognition is offered on a first-come, first-served basis and is our way of acknowledging those who continue to invest in this community and its mission.
Conference Venue
A Boston Landmark Designed for Meaningful Connection
Where timeless architecture meets modern healthcare dialogue
Located in the heart of Back Bay, the Colonnade Hotel offers a distinctive Boston setting for healthcare conferences that value both substance and experience. With abundant natural light, and walkable access to the city’s academic, clinical, and cultural institutions, the Colonnade creates an environment that supports focused learning, authentic networking, and productive collaboration.
Pricing
10th Anniversary Leadership Circle
As we mark ten years of bringing together leaders dedicated to advancing patient-centered care, we are recognizing the first 50 individuals who commit early to joining us in Boston.
The first 50 attendees who:
• Register for the Symposium
• Reserve their room at The Colonnade Hotel within the official group block
by May 15, 2026, will receive a $100 rebate per night stayed, for up to three nights.
That is up to $300 in additional savings, in addition to our best registration rates.
The group rate at The Colonnade is available for up to three nights before and after the conference, giving you additional time to connect with colleagues and reflect on the work ahead.
Pricing
Before May 15
Before July 17
Regular Rate
Healthcare Leaders (Providers, Payers, Academics, Government)
Main Conference Only
$1,295
$1,495
$1,795
Main Conference + 1 Workshop
$1,545
$1,745
$2,045
Full Symposium Experience (Main + 2 Workshops)
$1,695
$1,895
$2,195
Non-Sponsoring Solution Providers
Main Conference Only
$1,895
$2,095
$2,395
Main + 1 Workshop
$2,145
$2,345
$2,645
Full Symposium Experience (Main + 2 Workshops)
$2,295
$2,495
$2,795
Bring Your Team & Save
Transformation happens faster when teams learn together.
Register three or more delegates from the same organization at the same time and receive 10% off each registration.
This is an ideal opportunity to align leadership, clinical, operational, and patient experience teams around shared strategies and actionable takeaways.
Planning to bring a larger group? We’re happy to create a customized package to support your team’s participation. Please contact us at info@icdevents.com to discuss preferred pricing and coordination support.
Cancellation & Substitution Policy
We understand that schedules shift and unexpected circumstances arise. If you are unable to attend, please notify us in writing as soon as possible.
-
Cancellations received on or before August 14, 2026 will receive a full refund, less a $200 administrative fee.
-
Cancellations received between August 15 and September 14, 2026 will receive a credit voucher for the full paid amount, valid for any future ICD conference within 12 months.
-
Because of contractual commitments and advance planning, we are unable to offer refunds or credits for cancellations received on or after September 15, 2026.
If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to send a colleague in your place at no additional cost. Substitutions may be made at any time.
Our goal is to support your participation in a way that feels fair while honoring the commitments required to bring this community together.
Program content and speakers are subject to change.
Sponsorship
Partner With Us
Where Patient Experience Leaders Drive Meaningful Change
An intimate forum for decision-makers shaping the human side of healthcare
The Patient Experience Symposium brings together the leaders, clinicians, and innovators redefining how care is delivered, communicated, and experienced. Through practical case studies, peer-driven discussion, and thoughtfully curated sessions, the symposium offers a focused environment for advancing trust, empathy, and outcomes across the continuum of care.
Get More Information
Sponsorship Packages
Options to Fit Your Needs
ICD is happy to work with you to customize these tiered sponsorship packages to meet your organization’s goals and budget, each designed to maximize brand exposure, thought leadership, and networking opportunities.
» Reserve a Tabletop
» Host the Opening Reception
» Sponsor an Exclusive Luncheon or Networking Break
» Be a Part of the Conference Registration
Partners
©2025 International Conference Development, LLC. All rights reserved. ICD is an independent, purpose-driven producer of national events and symposia. All conference programs, speakers, and schedules are subject to change without notice. For sponsorship or speaking opportunities, please contact info@icdevents.com. View our Privacy Policy.