DAY 1 - Wednesday, December 2, 2026
DAY 1 - Wednesday, December 2, 2026
The Integrated Human Experience in Healthcare: Designing Seamless Patient & Workforce Journeys
First Time Attending NGPX?
- Meet fellow first-time attendees and start forming meaningful connections
- Exchange ideas and insights with peers who are new to the NGPX experience
- Join lightly structured conversations that make networking feel natural and easy
Check in and pick up your conference badge to officially begin your NGPX experience.
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm
Welcome Remarks
2:10 pm - 2:30 pm
Chairperson’s Opening Remark
Sponsored by: Press Ganey
2:20 pm - 2:50 pm
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL: Systems United: How Health Systems Are Redefining the Future of Patient Experience Together
Brian Carlson -
VP, Patient Experience,
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dawn Robbins -
System Associate Vice President, Patient Experience,
Baptist Health
Tom Tull -
VP,Chief Experience Officer,
Ballad Health
Kristy Gay -
Chief Experience Officer,
Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation
Amberlee Fay -
Director, Office of Patient Experience,
UK HealthCare
Unite patient experience leaders across health systems to explore how collaboration drives meaningful transformation. This opening panel highlights how aligned leadership, shared ownership, and cross‑functional partnership are reshaping the way experiences are designed and delivered. Learn how working together not in silos creates a stronger, more sustainable impact for patients, staff, and organizations.
3:05 pm - 3:35 pm
Partner Keynote
Sponsored by: Protoqual
8:00 am - 8:30 am
KEYNOTE PANEL: Burnout, Retention, and Experience: Following the Thread from Staff to Patient Outcomes
Erica Steed -
Director, Patient Experience,
Wellstar Health System
Burnout and turnover are no longer workforce issues alone; they are patient experience issues. This panel follows the clear thread connecting staff well‑being, engagement, and retention to safety, quality, and patient outcomes. Leaders will share how workforce strain shows up in the patient experience, where traditional solutions fall short, and what moves the needle. Learn how organizations are addressing burnout through culture, staffing models, leadership behaviors, and experience design while improving retention and delivering more reliable, compassionate care for patients.
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Keynote: Experience Is Everyone’s Job: Humanizing Care Through Culture, Psychological Safety, and Operational Leadership
Seanna-Kaye Denham -
Chief Operating Officer,
NYC Health + Hospitals
In this keynote, Seanna-Kaye Denham explores how operational leadership, psychological safety, and shared accountability can humanize care across complex health systems. Attendees will learn how leaders can create environments where staff feel supported to speak up, collaborate across disciplines, and deliver compassionate, reliable care. Grounded in real-world healthcare operations, this session offers practical insight into making everyone's job experience and building a culture where both patients and teams can thrive.
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Stretch & Networking Break (10 MIN)
8:00 am - 8:30 am
PANEL: Leading Human Experience: How Executive Behavior Shapes What Patients Feel
Seanna-Kaye Denham -
Chief Operating Officer,
NYC Health + Hospitals
Michelle Shirey -
Chief Operating Officer, FPG,
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Nazanin Sabrina Ziaee -
Director of Operations,
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Lead human experience by recognizing how executive behaviors directly shape what patients and staff feel every day. This panel examines the powerful role leaders play in setting culture through visibility, communication, and decision-making. Hear how intentional leadership actions can build trust, reduce friction, and elevate experience at every level of the organization.
Nazanin Sabrina Ziaee
Director of OperationsMedStar Georgetown University Hospital
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Partner Keynote/Fireside Chat
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Case Study: Culture Isn’t a Program: How High‑Performing Systems Reinforce It Every Day
Alicha Curry -
Director of Clinical Operations, Primary Care,
Providence Medical Group
Reinforce culture by treating it not as a program, but as a set of behaviors practiced every day. In this case study, leaders from high‑performing health systems share how they embed values into decisions, routines, and leadership actions especially under pressure. Gain practical insights on sustaining culture in real‑world environments where consistency, accountability, and reinforcement matter most.
Alicha Curry
Director of Clinical Operations, Primary CareProvidence Medical Group
8:00 am - 8:30 am
Fireside Chat: From Competency to Culture: Building Leaders Who Move Experience Outcomes
Experience outcomes rarely improve strategy alone; they improve when leaders at every level consistently show up with the behaviors that build trust, reliability, and accountability. In this fireside chat, we'll explore what effective leadership development looks like in today's healthcare environment and how to connect it directly to measurable patients and workforce experience results. The conversation will cover which leader behaviors most predict experience performance, how to design development that sticks (coaching, rounding, feedback loops, and peer accountability), and how to measure impact beyond course completion linking capability growth to culture, retention, quality, and PX metrics.