Better Than I Found It Stories of Patient Experience and Healthcare Leadership

by Kalthoff, Katherine

• ISBN13: 9781667861074
• ISBN10: 1667861077
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2022-10-28
• Publisher: BookBaby

Summary

Katherine Kalthoff is a healthcare leader determined to change the perception of patient experience from that of pillow fluffing and valet parking to one of genuine connection, quality and safety. Based on her 25+ years in the field, Better Than I Found It is a collection of true stories about healthcare leadership and patient experience. With humor and humanity, Kate reminds us that good patient experience means good staff experience. If you've ever worked in healthcare, led a team, been a patient in a hospital or loved someone who was, Better Than I Found It is a must-read.

Author Biography

Katherine Kalthoff has been working in non-clinical healthcare roles her entire career. Starting out as a rape victim advocate at a counseling center for survivors of sexual assault, Kate then spent several years in organ donation and transplantation, speaking with family members about the decision to donate a loved one's organs and tissues. She went on to hospital-based roles including Physician Relations Manager, Service Excellence Specialist, and, most recently, Division Vice President of Patient Experience. Kate is also an accomplished musician, having sung with Toccata and Vox Musica in California, and has seen first-hand the miraculous effects that music and art have on healing. Born and raised in Chicago, Kate now lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband, Mike. Together, they have four grown children.

As a Patient Experience leader, Katherine Kalthoff has been a champion in moving the perception of patient experience from pillow fluffing and valet parking to quality, safety and connection. She has been a speaker at the American Medical Group Association National Conference, The Nevada Hospital Association, the National Association of Healthcare Quality, and StoryCorps, and had a successful blog: I Am The Patient Experience. She was part of the inaugural class of Certified Patient Experience Professions (CPXP) and one of the very first to receive this certification. This collection of true stories draws on the concept of connection and how important it is not just for patients but for the clinical staff, as well. From picking apart the tactics to trying to appease a crabby old lady, and even revealing some of her own personal healthcare experiences, her stories are honest. Better Than I Found It will challenge you to see patient experience as it was intended: a genuine, meaningful connection between patients and the people who care for them.