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

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.