Serving participants through a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Delaware’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics’ Hospitality Business Management department, and Division of Professional and Continuing Studies, the Patient Experience Academy’s (PXA) mission is “to make hospitals truly hospitable,” and focuses on experience and engagement addressed through a variety of learning methods, including short presentations, targeted readings, facilitated discussions and situational practice sessions.
UD’s PXA provides industry-leading education to professionals in area medical centers, including Christiana Care Medical Group and the Wilmington VA Medical Center.
Christiana Care Medical Group Patient Experience Academy
Quick Facts
- Began in 2014
- A partnership between UD and Christiana Care Health System that helps medical employees to view patients as guests and to provide the hospitality that can be so impactful on hospital visits
- Christiana Care has seen a sizable increase in scores on the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CGCAHPS)
“We are very happy with the sustained results. From day one, our focus was
on the Christiana Care Way, attention to detail and managing patient expectations at all touch points.”
– Ali Poorani, UD associate professor of Hospitality Business Management, director of Hospitality
Associates for Research and Training (HART), and principal investigator of the PXA
News about the Christiana Care Patient Experience Academy
- Hospital hospitality – UD partners with Christiana Care to strengthen hospitality, customer service skills
- Hospitable hospitals – Christiana Care Medical Group reports increase in patient satisfaction working together with UD
- Patient Experience Academy – Applying Hospitality Service Principles to Healthcare
- Patient Experience Case Study – Christiana Care Health System
VA Patient Experience Academy
Quick Facts
- Serving 375 participants
- Began in February 2019 with VA managers comprising the first of five 25-person cohorts from the Wilmington VA Medical Center and VA primary care locations in New Jersey and Delaware
- Training for 10 additional 25-person cohorts of frontline associates and health care providers to commence in fall 2019
- Program administered to cohorts over five weekly, two-hour sessions in the Tower at STAR
- Facilitators representing hospitality industry and academics
- Patient Experience Academy certificate awarded by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
“There is a difference between patient service and patient experience. Experience is connecting
to customers’ emotions. What makes this challenging is that customers have different expectations,
which makes managing those expectations a highly remarkable skill. We focus on that something
extra, beyond excellent service. Excellent service is expected.”
– Ali Poorani, UD associate professor of Hospitality Business Management, director of Hospitality
Associates for Research and Training (HART), and principal investigator of the PXA
News about the VA Patient Experience Academy
- UD helping Wilmington VA Medical Center
- VA secretary applauds UD-VA partnership
- Carper, VA Secretary learn more about UD Hospitality’s work in improving patient experience
