We are pleased to share a new episode of Humanizing Healthcare featuring Rafael Cohen, Chief Executive Officer at Pacifica Salud Hospitals.

In this conversation, Rafael shares how Pacifica Salud has built a culture of person-centered care rooted in leadership, dignity, and humanity, even in the most complex and high-pressure moments.

From rethinking hospital environments to making courageous policy decisions during COVID-19, Rafael offers real-world examples of what it looks like when healthcare organizations put people first, not just in principle, but in practice.

Together, we explore how values-driven leadership shapes patient experience, supports care teams, and leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.

🎧 Hit play to hear how leadership choices can transform care, especially when it matters most.

Key Takeaways

Introduction (00:00)

Why Person-Centered Care Matters (02:05)

Designing Healing Environments for Dignity (08:55)

Policy Decisions That Changed Outcomes (11:45)

Balancing Care, Community, and Global Patients (15:05)

When Crisis Reveals Culture (23:20)

Advice for Leaders: Humanity First (32:35)

Additional Resources

Guest: Rafael Cohen’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-cohen-1926901b/

—

Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7

Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/

Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/

—

Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/

Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

Dwight McBee is back for round two on the Humanizing Healthcare podcast, and we can assure you that you'll want to hear what he’s been up to.

As Chief Experience Officer at RWJBarnabas Health, Dwight is leading some seriously bold work around making care more compassionate, more responsive, and more human.

We discuss how he’s helping an entire health system listen in real time, how he views AI as a tool, and why the small, everyday moments are often the ones that matter most.

Dwight shares the strategies that his team is using to make change last, why flashy new initiatives can be a trap, and how storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in a leader’s toolkit.

🎧 Hit play and get inspired by a leader who is living it.

Key Takeaways

Introduction (00:00)

Dwight Mcbee's journey into healthcare (03:27)

Technology and listening in healthcare (10:34)

Sustaining patient experience initiatives (16:39)

Magnifying the mundane (19:51)

Balancing patient and provider experience (22:04)

Future of the chief experience officer role (24:48)

Advice for aspiring leaders (28:38)

Additional Resources

Dwight McBee’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwmcbee/

—-

Story Submission Link for New Book: https://forms.gle/32juxZ7aYFSuugBi7

Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/

Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/

----

Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/

Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/

How do we make sure hospitals are truly listening to the people they serve?

In this episode, I am joined by Jill Adolphe from Planetree to talk to Barbara Lewis, a powerhouse advocate for the patient voice and founder of Healthcare PX. What started as a personal tragedy for Barbara became a mission to elevate how hospitals engage with patients and families through PFACs (Patient and Family Advisory Councils).

We discuss why PFACs too often become symbolic and how, with the right metrics and leadership support, they can become engines of real change. Barbara shares what the best-performing councils do differently, why measurement is everything, and how hospitals like Kaiser Permanente have set a gold standard.

We also talk about the future of PFACs and why they must evolve alongside digital health, AI, and new care models. It’s also time healthcare catches up with other industries in valuing customer feedback.

Barbara is the author of the book: The Marketing Success Book. Interested in researching hospital Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), she went back to school, obtaining a PhD from UNLV School of Public Health in 2025, where she currently teaches. Her dissertation was a mixed-method study on Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs).

🎧 Listen now and learn how to prove the value of the patient voice and PFACs!

Key Takeaways

Introduction (00:00)

Barbara Lewis’s journey and research (01:17)

Defining success for PFACs (05:51)

Challenges and barriers in PFACs sustainability (08:39)

Best practices for high-performing PFACs (10:43)

Demonstrating financial and operational value in PFACs (11:34)

Recruiting and retaining diverse PFAC members (15:04)

Integrating PFACs into hospital governance (17:33)

PFAC accelerators and outcomes (19:18)

Future of PFACs and best practices (20:45)

Q&A session (28:19)

Additional Resources

Healthcare PX Website: https://healthcarepx.org/

Barbara Lewis LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaralewisjfbr/

—-

Fidelum Health LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidelum-health/

Planetree LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/planetree/

----

Unlock the power of our HUMAN Brand™ insights model for enhanced patient, team member, and care provider experiences: https://fidelumhealth.com/

Learn how Planetree can help your organization deliver person-centered care at: https://www.planetree.org/