Building a “One Team” Culture in Healthcare

In healthcare, a seamless and collaborative approach to patient care is essential. Yet, creating a true “One Team” culture, where every staff member—clinical and non-clinical—contributes to patient experience and patient safety, is easier said than done. On a recent episode of the CX Matters podcast, Katelyn Moser, MBA, CPXP, PMP, Senior Director of Patient Experience at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, shared her insights on how to build a unified team culture and drive patient experience excellence through leader rounding for high reliability.

The Importance of One Team Culture in Healthcare

Healthcare organizations often have thousands of employees, each with specialized roles. However, as Katelyn pointed out, when it comes to patient experience, “we could say thousands of associates are on our team because everyone’s working towards this one team patient experience.” This mindset fosters collaboration beyond traditional departmental boundaries and promotes a culture of safety through practices like safety rounding.

The key to fostering a One Team culture is ensuring that every associate, from frontline staff to administrators, understands their role in shaping the patient’s journey. Rather than seeing patient experience as a function limited to nursing or patient relations teams, MedStar Washington Hospital Center has instilled an organization-wide commitment to a shared mission. Their leadership consistently reinforces this by using “One Team” as more than just a slogan—it is a core value embedded into their daily operations, including leader rounding for high reliability practices.

Breaking the Traditional Boundaries of Patient Experience Leadership

Many hospitals historically viewed patient experience as a primarily nursing-driven function. However, Katelyn’s career trajectory challenges this assumption. Coming from a background in hospitality and operations rather than nursing, she found that her expertise in guest experience, operational efficiency, and team management provided her with unique strengths in patient experience leadership and leader rounding for high reliability in healthcare.

As she explained, “Patient experience really begins and ends with nursing, but that doesn’t mean that only nurses should lead it. Having a diverse leadership team with different backgrounds allows for fresh perspectives and more holistic problem-solving.” This insight highlights the importance of cross-functional collaboration and interprofessional teams in improving patient care and outcomes.

Leader Rounding for High Reliability: A Game-Changer for Patient and Employee Experience

One of the most impactful initiatives that Katelyn’s team implemented is leader rounding for high reliability—a structured approach where patient experience leaders conduct routine visits to both patients and associates to gather real-time feedback and enhance communication. But what is patient rounding, and what is rounding in healthcare? These are essential practices that involve regularly checking in with patients and staff to ensure quality care and address concerns promptly.

“Just like we ask our nurses to do purposeful interval rounding with patients, we started doing leader rounding for high reliability as patient experience leaders,” Katelyn shared. This dual-purpose approach ensures that leaders stay connected to both patient concerns and staff challenges, allowing for proactive problem-solving and promoting psychological safety.

To implement leader rounding for high reliability effectively, Katelyn’s team developed a streamlined approach:

• Define Key Metrics: Establish how many patients and staff members should be engaged on each unit per round.
• Use Simple Technology: Leverage tools like Microsoft Forms as a patient rounding tool and tracking tool to collect and analyze feedback efficiently.
• Standardize Questions: Develop structured rounding questions for employees and patients to ensure consistency and actionable insights. This includes a mix of open-ended questions and specific inquiries about care quality.
• Ensure Visibility: Conduct structured visits at regular intervals and in diverse areas to ensure widespread impact and recognition of staff efforts.

For smaller institutions looking to improve their patient experience, this structured approach to hospital rounding provides a scalable and highly effective solution for rounding success.

Engaging Employees to Improve Patient Experience

A core principle of One Team culture is recognizing that engaged employees create better patient experiences. Katelyn emphasized that her team invests heavily in associate feedback mechanisms, including:

• Town Halls and Surveys: Regular engagement sessions and biannual My Voice surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Transparent Communication: When leadership makes changes based on associate feedback, they actively communicate these improvements to staff, fostering bidirectional communication and closed-loop communication.
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Rather than working in silos, departments like interpreter services, volunteer programs, and patient experience all align their efforts to maximize impact on patient outcomes, strengthening interdisciplinary relationships.

“Employees need to feel heard and valued,” Katelyn stated. “When they see their feedback leading to real change, they become more invested in improving patient experiences.” This approach to staff engagement and patient experience rounding contributes to building resilience and a strong culture of safety within the organization.

Enhancing Interpreter Services to Remove Language Barriers

One of the standout aspects of MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s patient experience strategy is how they handle interpreter services. Many hospitals struggle with interpreter accessibility, leading to delays and frustration for patients with limited English proficiency.

At MedStar, interpreter services fall under the patient experience department, ensuring that language barriers do not become obstacles to quality care. Katelyn highlighted several best practices that make their system effective:

• Dedicated On-Site Interpreters: Unlike many hospitals that rely solely on outsourced interpretation services, MedStar has full-time, part-time, and PRN interpreters who understand the hospital’s workflows and culture.
• 24/7 Access: A dedicated phone line ensures that medical teams can immediately access an interpreter when needed.
• Regular Audits: Periodic assessments ensure that interpreter technology and equipment are readily available across the hospital.
• Leadership Oversight: Having an experienced manager for interpreter services as part of the patient experience team ensures continuous improvement and responsiveness to patient needs.

This strategic alignment ensures that language access is not just an operational necessity but a critical component of patient-centered care and patient safety.

Key Takeaways for Building a One Team Culture

1. Make Patient Experience Everyone’s Responsibility – Reinforce the mindset that every associate plays a role in shaping the patient experience and contributing to high reliability organizations.
2. Break Down Silos – Encourage cross-functional collaboration by integrating diverse leadership perspectives and aligning efforts across departments.
3. Use Leader Rounding for High Reliability to Stay Connected – Regular, structured visits with patients and staff provide real-time insights and opportunities for improvement.
4. Engage Employees and Show Impact – Demonstrate that staff feedback leads to meaningful change to build trust and motivation, fostering a culture of psychological safety. Use visual management boards to communicate improvements transparently.
5. Enhance Interpreter Services for a More Inclusive Experience – Prioritize accessibility and cultural competency in patient communications.

By implementing these strategies, healthcare institutions can foster a true One Team culture, leading to improved patient satisfaction, higher employee engagement, and better overall outcomes. Measuring the impact of these initiatives is crucial for continuous improvement and rounding success.

Final Thoughts

The concept of One Team culture is more than just a feel-good slogan—it’s a strategic necessity for healthcare organizations that want to provide exceptional patient care. By making patient experience a shared responsibility, prioritizing staff well-being, and breaking down barriers to communication, hospitals can create a truly unified and effective team.

Katelyn Moser’s leadership at MedStar Washington Hospital Center serves as an excellent model for how healthcare institutions can build and sustain a One Team culture. For organizations looking to enhance their patient experience efforts, implementing leader rounding for high reliability, fostering a team-based approach, and ensuring transparent communication can be game-changers in creating high reliability organizations.

To hear more insights from Katelyn, including employee rounding questions and additional essentials, listen to the full episode of CX Matters on the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy’s podcast network.