Elevating Patient Experience to Exponential: Sven Gierlinger, Chief Experience Officer @Northwell Health

In this episode, I am in conversation with Sven Gierlinger, Chief Experience Officer at Northwell Health.

Sven graciously shares his personal experience and what has inspired him to shift from an incredible background in hospitality to elevating patient experience within healthcare. As we stroll through the patient experience journey within the healthcare ecosystem, we unravel the challenges, complexities, and inequities. We find ourselves rejoicing in solutions that Sven seems to have successfully implemented, such as reigning in Michelin Star Chefs to change the narrative on the quality of food being served, curating a "Team Lavender" to address physician burnout proactively, inspired by a military model, curating empathy training curriculum for physicians, instituting music in the lobbies and much more.

We deep dive into our passion space which is fueling the FoodRx movement- delivering nutritious and high-quality food to all to elevate and nourish members in healthcare and the authentic impact food as medicine plays in our health and wellness journey.

About
With a focus on providing exceptional customer service and delivering the highest quality care, Sven Gierlinger is responsible for building an engaging, innovative and collaborative culture that drives organizational growth and customer loyalty through the customer experience.

He came to Northwell from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit where he served as vice president, hospitality and service culture, responsible for creating a superior and consistent service experience for patients, visitors and employees. Mr. Gierlinger worked closely with leadership to drive culture change around improving the customer experience in every encounter across the system. 

Prior to that, he was administrator, hospitality services, for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, responsible for all aspects of non-clinical operations, the Wellness & Integrative Health Center, retail shops and café, and the customer experience.

Mr. Gierlinger began his career in the luxury hotel business, holding a series of leadership positions with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. He played a key role in the openings of several Ritz-Carlton hotels in Germany, Japan, Indonesia and the United States, responsible for executing and implementing Ritz-Carlton service standards, training staff and leading teams of trainers.

About Host
Smriti Kirubanandan has a strong background in robotics and public health and is a Healthcare Executive, where she focuses on driving significant transformations within the healthcare ecosystem, concentrating on customer experience, intelligent automation, data analytics and insights, and is determined to make healthcare more accessible and affordable through innovation and empathy. She also spearheads brand development, thought leadership, and market research. 

Smriti is a selected Young Global Leader 2023 by the World Economic Forum, a member of the Young Leaders Circle at the Milken Institute, and is the Founder of HLTH Forward Podcast- an award-winning media platform that hosts healthcare leaders, policymakers, and artists to discuss the challenges in the system and what we could do collectively to move healthcare forward. 

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