MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Tameka Glenn is a results-driven patient experience leader with more than a decade of healthcare experience. At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, she focuses on patient-centered care, quality and performance improvement, and team leadership. A Certified Patient Experience Professional and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Glenn champions empathy, communication and meaningful change.

Turning Experience Into Leadership Perspective

I began my healthcare journey as a mental health counselor, where I saw a gap in advocacy and patient-experience structures for that population. At the time, I was pre-med and planning to become a physician, with little understanding of patient experience. That changed when I connected with my organization’s patient experience director and completed an internship with her, opening my eyes to the field.

My clinical experience showed me the importance of administrative support in providing adequate care for patients with different backgrounds and needs. I learned how patient experience connects with advocacy, patient relations, risk management, quality and safety. I also came to understand the importance of effective communication and have since trained and coached staff to provide patient- and family-centered care.

My experience includes reviewing clinical workflows to improve efficiency while keeping care patient-centered. Specializing in emergency medicine and perioperative services, while gaining exposure to many other specialties, has shaped my approach to operational improvement.

Advancing Care with Empathetic Leadership

I lead with empathy and believe we need to see healthcare through our patients’ eyes. The past six years have been traumatizing and life-changing for healthcare workers and patients, so I want my decisions grounded in compassion rather than metrics alone.

Patient experience surveys and other measures are important, but my approach is to put people first and consider both patient and employee perspectives. I believe in turning feedback into action by listening to staff and acting on what they share. The same applies to patient comments, complaints, grievances and rounding feedback. The goal is to use these insights to drive meaningful change.

Designing Care Around Patient Needs

One of our priorities is maintaining a strong Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), whose members remain central to what we do. We also conduct proactive leadership rounds to hear directly from patients beyond surveys and complaints and incorporate their feedback.

In the emergency department, I use journey mapping to partner with patients, identify bottlenecks and understand where improvements are needed throughout their care journey. Partnering with frontline staff is equally important because making their jobs easier can also improve the patient experience.

While patient experience goes beyond data, we need to understand what it tells us. Patient comments often reveal what matters most to them and where improvement is needed. Executive leadership partnership and buy-in are also essential, as aligned and supportive leaders have been instrumental in helping me execute effectively.

Modernizing Care Through Innovation

Another focus area for MedStar is using real-time data and technology to identify opportunities sooner. We currently utilize ERAdvisor by Vital in our Emergency Department to keep patients and families informed and address concerns as they arise.

Within our 912-bed hospital and high-volume Emergency Department, we recognized that manpower alone would not be sufficient to improve operational efficiency and elevate the patient experience. ERAdvisor provides patients access real-time wait-time updates, lab and imaging results, plain-language test explanations, discharge instructions, and visit updates shared with family. Patients can also communicate questions and concerns, allowing our team to proactively address needs, improve transparency, and identify opportunities to enhance ED operations and care delivery.

We are also transitioning to Epic as our EMR system, which will enable more effective communication among care teams. Its InBasket feature will allow us to communicate with clinician teams in real time, helping address patient concerns and expedite care.

Experience Leadership for Improving Patient Care

Throughout my career, I have learned that we must listen before we solve. Organizations can become reactive without fully understanding root causes, while patients and frontline employees often know where the barriers are. Their input should inform solutions.

Relationships also drive results. Even the best strategy will not be sustainable without the engagement of those delivering care, making consistent partnerships with nurses, physicians, leaders and frontline teams essential.

Finally, consistency matters. A great experience should not depend on the employee, shift or department a patient encounters. Training cannot be a one-time effort. Our organization provides quarterly communication and best-practice training in the Emergency Department, along with monthly training across inpatient units, to reinforce key principles and promote consistent application of patient experience standards across care settings.

Leading Patient Experience Transformation

Based on my 15-plus years of experience, I encourage professionals to listen and stay close to the people they serve while building strong relationships across the organization. Without those relationships, effective execution becomes difficult.

I also encourage professionals to understand and use their data, speak confidently about it and tell the story behind it.

Lastly, find a mentor. I have been fortunate to have great mentors throughout my career, and having someone to turn to in difficult situations or simply bounce ideas off of can make a meaningful difference.