We have one purpose at Children’s Minnesota: to champion the health of every child. That commitment drives us to provide the most advanced and compassionate pediatric care. But as I said in this blog, outstanding health care is much more than providing medical services. It’s also providing a great all-around experience.
We envision a future where Children’s Minnesota is the region’s premier provider of specialized pediatric care, distinguishing ourselves through the exceptional experiences we create for our patients, staff and community.
Achieving this is no small task. Hillery Shay, our SVP and chief marketing and experience officer, is leading the experience part of this aspiration. The work is just getting underway, so I’ve invited her to tell you more about what we’re doing and why.
Hillery Shay in her own words
If you’ve ever hiked up a mountain, you know how satisfying it is to reach the first overlook. While taking in the beautiful view, you have a choice to make. You can stop there, or you can continue up the mountain. Hiking further might be hard, but once you reach the next overlook, the view will be even more spectacular.
This is how I’m approaching our work to distinguish ourselves through the exceptional experiences we create for our patients, staff and community. An “exceptional experience” means every person who walks through our doors feels respected, truly heard and has their unique needs met with compassion and expertise.
A powerful example
In many ways, our incredible staff already provide a great experience for our patients and families. One powerful example is the story of Temi. She spent more than a year in our Minneapolis hospital – an unimaginable length of time for a 5-year-old child. But our incredible child life team stepped in as true “experience makers” for her and her family. Our kid experts didn’t just provide medical care; they created moments of joy, celebrated milestones like Temi’s birthday and holidays, and created an environment where she could continue to learn, grow and thrive.
Providing an exceptional experience also means proactively anticipating the needs of our patients, families and staff, in extraordinary circumstances like Temi’s as well as every day. Consistency is key. We envision a future where, no matter which Children’s Minnesota location you visit across the metro, you can expect and receive the same high-quality, compassionate and supportive experience.
Where do we start?
So how do we start tackling this challenge? By creating our first “Experience Council,” a team of Children’s Minnesota folks committed to learning, innovating and answering this question: How can we best meet and exceed the expectations of everyone we serve?
Our first order of business is recognizing that we don’t have all the answers. We can certainly learn from other health systems, but we also want to look beyond our field. What makes an experience truly outstanding in other industries? What can we learn from the worlds of hospitality and entertainment? That’s what we plan to explore over the next few months to find inspiration and best practices we can adapt to our unique pediatric health care environment.
Our why
Why are we setting out on this journey? Because it’s the right thing to do. By prioritizing exceptional experiences, we can better serve our community, retain our remarkable staff and ensure that families continue to choose Children’s Minnesota for their children’s health care needs.
I am excited to start this new chapter at Children’s Minnesota. I deeply value the incredible work already being done, but we have more climbing to do to reach the next overlook. Our journey is ambitious, but the story of Temi reminds us that the extraordinary is absolutely possible.
Marc Gorelick, MD
President, chief executive officer
Marc Gorelick, MD, is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Children’s Minnesota. He is deeply committed to advocacy issues that impact children’s health, sustainability and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Learn more about his book, “Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc’s Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis.” All proceeds from the book will be invested back into Children’s Minnesota gun violence prevention work.
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