Julie Kennedy Oehlert

Chief Experience and Brand Officer ECU Health

Julie Kennedy Oehlert, DNP RN, has over four decades of expertise and wisdom gathered from a life working in health care. She started her career as a nurse aide at the age of 14 and has served in a variety of clinical, operational, consultative, and strategic roles across the health care continuum. Her clinical practice is Emergency Trauma nursing, and she achieved her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership from University of Minnesota. She is a perpetual student of design thinking and culture disruption and serves as the Chief Experience & Brand Officer for ECU Health. In her role, Dr. Oehlert, strategically drives the experience and culture at ECU Health. This includes all things patient experience and team member experience including oversight of orientation and onboarding of new team members, recognition and workforce well-being. In her role, she leads both internal and external communications, marketing, digital, social and public relations for the health system. Dr. Oehlert has operational responsibility for Environmental Services, Food Services, Language Access Services, Hospitality, and Patient and Family Advisors. Dr. Oehlert is adjunct faculty for East Carolina University College of Nursing. Dr. Oehlert was recognized in 2021 as Healthcare Innovator of the Year by the Beryl Institute and in 2024 will publish her first book titled ‘System Innovations: How to Disrupt with Love and Human Caring. ECU Health is a mission-driven, 1,708 bed academic health care system serving more than 1.4 million people in 29 eastern North Carolina counties. The not-for-profit system is comprised of more than 13,000 team members, nine hospitals, and a multi-specialty group practice with more than 1,100 providers in more than 180 locations. The flagship ECU Health Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, and ECU Health’s Maynard Children’s Hospital serve as the primary teaching hospitals for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and is the 14th largest medical center in the United States. ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine share a combined academic mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina through patient care, education and research.

Day 1: Rooted in Purpose: Reconnecting with the Why Behind PX

2:00 PM Fresh Faces, Shared Spaces: Coffee House Social Hour for NGPX Newbies

First Time Attending NGPX? Kick off your NGPX journey with this relaxed, coffeehouse-style networking event designed just for first-year attendees. Join fellow newcomers and our welcoming Advisory Board members for casual conversations, light structure, and a low-pressure environment to help you ease into the event. Whether you're looking for industry insights, new connections, or just some friendly faces, this session is the perfect way to start building your NGPX community—it’s going to be a latte of fun!

Meet fellow first-time attendees and start forming lasting connections
Get guidance and insights from seasoned Advisory Board mentors
Join lightly structured group discussions to jumpstart meaningful conversations with ease

Day 2: From Insight to Impact: Operationalizing Patient Experience

4:05 PM Design Thinking Roundtable Workshops: Collaborative Problem-Solving with PX Leaders

Join fellow patient experience leaders for a hands-on, small-group session using design thinking to tackle real-world challenges in healthcare. Guided by experienced facilitators, each table will focus on a specific PX pain point—from care transitions to staff burnout—and work through a rapid-cycle innovation process to uncover creative, actionable solutions.

These intimate, interactive discussions are built for participation—not passive listening—so come ready to share, brainstorm, and leave with fresh ideas you can put into practice.

What to Expect:

Choose from several timely PX challenges curated by industry leaders
Collaborate with peers in a structured yet flexible design-thinking framework
Walk away with practical strategies and inspiration to take back to your team

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #1: Disruption Mandala

Julie Kennedy Oehlert, Chief Experience and Brand Officer, ECU Health

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #2: From Reactive to Proactive: Rethinking Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare"

Stephanie Bayer, Senior Director, Patient Experience, Cleveland Clinic

How might we design safer environments and stronger support systems to protect staff from physical and verbal abuse while maintaining compassionate care?

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #3: Empathy Under Pressure: Designing Support Systems for Burned-Out Staff

How might we create low-effort, high-impact tools and moments that help clinical teams feel heard, valued, and emotionally supported in real time?

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #4: Bridging the Discharge Gap: Redesigning the Patient Transition from Hospital to Home

How might we improve communication, clarity, and follow-through during discharge to reduce confusion, readmissions, and dissatisfaction?

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #5: Winning Over the Why: Engaging a Disconnected C-Suite in the Value of Patient Experience

How might we reframe patient experience as a strategic priority for executives who see it as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a business imperative?

ROUNDTABLE WORKSHOP #6: Designing a Patient Advisory Board That Actually Drives Change

How might we create a patient advisory board that goes beyond box-checking and becomes a meaningful engine for insight, inclusion, and impact?

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Julie Kennedy.

Download The Latest Agenda