Case Study: California Health Care Safety Net Institute achieves up to 20% patient satisfaction improvement and nationally recognized Always Events® with Stryker

Multi-Hospital Collaborative Leads to Nationally-Recognized Always Events®

The Experience Innovation Network, working with the California Health Care Safety Net Institute, led an 18-month Patient Experience Transformation (PExT) collaborative with nine public hospital systems to address gaps in patient engagement, communication, and frontline workflows. Teams led by physicians and nurses used the voice of patients and staff to map performance shortfalls and define clear experience improvement goals.

Using experience design and Always Events®—including Call Light First Responders, Lightening Team Huddles, and the Know Your Physician initiative—the hospitals engaged frontline staff to redesign processes. All participating hospitals reported improved experience measures (three joined the Always Events Community), with up to 20% better patient satisfaction and up to 10% higher staff engagement; for example, Natividad Medical Center’s overall HCAHPS rating rose from 86% to 95% and RN communication from 67% to 77%.

California Health Care Safety Net Institute

Andrea Rosenberg

Assistant Administrator, Operations