« Back to News

Our employees are the Patient Experience

/in /by

Our employees are the Patient Experience

This past week many of our Northwell Health facilities have been participating in national Patient Experience Week.  This annual event promotes how healthcare staff impacts patient experience every day and our employees are honored, recognized and re-inspired. Our 61,000 employees are dedicated to providing quality care with compassion. Patient Experience Week is one way Northwell extends its heartfelt appreciation and encourages continued efforts on behalf of patients and families. The Culture of C.A.R.E. which stands for Connectedness, Awareness, Respect and Empathy, is our promise to our patients and families. Storytelling is a powerful forum for hearing the “voice” of our patients and families and so, this week incredible patient stories were shared by reading letters aloud and watching video testimonials.

Across our organization, teams rallied around patient and family experience. Fun celebrations for our staff included recognition programs, red carpet events, photo booths, meditation sessions, smoothie bars, appreciation rounding by leaders, friendly competition activities, Culture of C.A.R.E. trivia, and team building activities. For our patients we had music performers, pet therapists, hand-written get well cards by staff and offerings of small gifts of appreciation upon discharge. Lastly, the organization went social. Using #PTEXP and #PXWeek, interdisciplinary teams across the organization posted to Facebook and Instagram, their Northwell Patient Experience pride!

At the end of the week, the Office of Patient & Corporate Experience hosted its first annual Culture of C.A.R.E. in Action Event on Friday, April 28th. It’s an experiential afternoon meant to inspire, challenge and lead patient experience influencers across our organization by sharing Northwell Health best practices. Kicked off by our Chief Experience Officer, Sven Gierlinger, and VP of Patient Experience, Aggie Barden, the event includes table top learning, academic posters and featured Ted-talk presentations. This year’s keynote speaker is Jason Wolf, President of the Beryl Institute which is the organization that started Patient Experience Week.

Happy Patient Experience Week from Northwell Health! Every Role, Every Person, Every Moment Matters.

 

« Back to News

Why you should choose a Human Resources career in Healthcare

/1 Comment/in , /by

Why you should choose a Human Resources career in Healthcare

Over the years Human Resources professionals have looked at many different industries besides healthcare to grow their career, but with the constant advancement of HR strategies within health systems there isn’t a better time to become a part of New York State’s largest private employer’s team. Hear from Irene Faranda, Associate Executive Director at South Oaks Hospital, about why she chose to pursue an HR career within healthcare and what it means to her to be a part of Northwell Health. 

Q: Please explain why you chose to pursue your career at Northwell Health.

A: I grew up in Queens and Northwell Health’s  Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC) was the hospital in our community.  When I was in my early 20’s my mom got very sick and was a patient at LIJMC as well as Hospice Care Network, a proud member of Northwell Health.  I remember the great care that both my mom and family received during our difficult time.  Although my mom passed, I will never forget how supportive and caring the employees were.

When I was graduating college I saw an opportunity at Hospice Care Network for an HR Generalist position.  I knew that I needed to be part of an organization that did such rewarding work so I explored the position.  What better way to enter the field of Human Resources!  I worked there for two years and really felt like I was giving back.  I did eventually leave to work in a corporate HR Manager role but after eight years away, I realized that I needed to go back to healthcare and continue to support their great mission and staff.

A job posting found its way to me for a Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) Director role at LIJMC and I decided to pursue it.  The opportunity appealed to me because it was a strategic business partner role working directly with the hospital leadership team as well as front line staff.  That is how I found my way back to Northwell Health.

Q: Please explain your career progressions throughout the years.

A: When I returned to Northwell Health at LIJMC I assumed the Human Resources Business Partner role.  During my first year I was embedded in the operation, focused on building relationships and led employee engagement and talent management efforts for my work groups of 1000+ employees.  I was also able to build my competence in labor relations.  I was part of a great campus HR team that was not only supportive but fun.

After my first year, the lead HRBP role opened at Zucker Hillside Hospital (ZHH) with 1200+ employees.  Supporting the field of behavioral health is a great experience and I found a calling working in a facility with this population of patients.  In the lead Business partner role, I was a member of the Executive Leadership team and able to develop strategy and lead HR and Patient experience programs that contributed to the facility achieving its business goals.  I was also able to work on corporate projects such as the myrecognition program and acted as a thought partner on various talent management initiatives.  I worked in this role for two years.

An opportunity then presented itself that would expand my responsibilities and I moved to South Oaks Hospital  to be the lead HRBP.  South Oaks is also a behavioral health facility but has a three hundred bed nursing and rehabilitation center on the campus with a total of 1300+ employees.  I have been in this role for a year now and it has been an amazing experience.  Similar to ZHH I am a member of the executive leadership team working to develop and executive our strategy to build leadership capabilities, employee engagement and workforce planning to enhance our patient experience. I am also leading the HR and change management efforts to integrate this facility into Northwell Health’s HR programs and technology.

Q: What does it mean for you to be a part of Northwell Health’s Human Resources team?

A: Overall, Northwell Health has provided me the opportunity and development to become a strategic HRPB and a member of the facility leadership team.  I truly feel valued by the organization for my contributions. Being part of an organization of 61,000+ great employees, working together to help people, and who are setting the trend in healthcare makes me proud to tell people that I work here (oh and it is pretty awesome to not have to travel to the city every day to go to work!)

 

« Back to News

The future of HR careers within Healthcare – Q&A with Chief People Officer, Joe Moscola

/1 Comment/in , , /by

The future of HR careers within Healthcare – Q&A with Chief People Officer, Joe Moscola

As we celebrate Healthcare Human Resources Week we spoke with Chief People Officer, Joe Moscola, about his own transition from Physician Assistant to a Human Resources professional, as well as the transformation of HR careers within healthcare and the amazing team he has throughout the many facilities within our organization.  

Can you please tell me about your career progression and what led you into an HR role?

I started my career as a Cardiac Surgery Physician Assistant.  Coming out of training there was nothing I wanted to do more and so I begged for my first job as a new graduate.  After practicing for a number of years, I had this nagging feeling that would not go away that I had more to give.   My career goal had always been to help change people’s lives which a clinical role certainly allowed me to do but I felt like I could make an even bigger impact.

Unsure of what to do next, a mentor of mine encouraged me to go back to school and “do something about it”.  Upon receiving a Master in Business Administration I went on to become a project manager outside of the health system however quickly returned taking on a number of operational roles throughout the health system.

While having the privilege of holding the role of SVP of Ambulatory Operations our President and CEO Michael Dowling approached me about taking over as the head of Human Resources.   This was during a time when the role and future of HR in organizations across all industries was being called to question.  Michael’s offer immediately intrigued me because I felt like this type of a role would further allow me to advance my career goal.

Now having been in the role for some time I look back at the last number of years and consider myself very lucky to have been given this opportunity.  The work we do and the value we provide to our most valuable asset, our people, is a privilege.

How have HR careers in healthcare changed over the years? How do you see them developing in the future?

Over the past decade, top healthcare executives have been relying more and more on HR for innovative and data driven business strategies.  In the world of big data and more advanced technology, HR professionals have needed to be data and digitally savvy, focusing on measurable actions that move the business toward its goals.  This has transformed traditionally transactional HR roles into more strategic ones.

Within the Health System, our HR team has embraced that change.  We continue to move away from just the day-to-day management of HR operations and have focused on becoming true partners with the business.  This has resulted in HR’s greater commitment to workforce planning, shaping culture and the employee experience, coaching and developing leaders, building talent pipelines and empowering managers by driving self-service.  Given that we are a healthcare organization, we’ve also had the ability and support to drive more HR roles within the wellness space, focusing on the holistic well-being of our employees.

As technology continues to advance and we really focus on the overall experience our employees, new roles will develop within HR.  These roles will require advanced skill sets.  Our HR professionals will need to be more analytical and enablers of change, with a focus on supporting a diverse and inclusive environment.

How does HR within Northwell impact our organization?

We support business strategy and help to maximize the potential of our strongest asset, our people.  We focus on the well-being of our employees within our culture of caring, innovation and safety, enabling them to be their best, so they can take care of others.

We affect the business from the hiring to retiring of our employees, ensuring that we have the right people in the right jobs at the right time in an environment that values diversity and fosters inclusion.  We empower our current and future leaders by providing development opportunities and support along their journeys.  We help ensure that our employees are rewarded appropriately and recognized for the great work that they do.

What would you like to say to our HR employees during their recognition week?

Thank you!  I am so proud of this team and all that we have been able to accomplish together.  Our people are the backbone of this organization and we affect them every day.  The work that we do matters.  By providing support to our employees we enable them to do their job of providing care to our patients effectively and compassionately.  Every patient that chooses us to take care of them deserves exceptional customer experience and the highest quality of care possible.  Because of you, our employees are able to provide that.