By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Leveraging the Power of Peer Coaches, Role Models and Grassroots Champions
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Leveraging the Power of Peer Coaches, Role Models and Grassroots Champions
BusinessHospital Administration

Leveraging the Power of Peer Coaches, Role Models and Grassroots Champions

Lonnie Hirsch
Lonnie Hirsch
Share
4 Min Read
Shannon Morris patient experience
SHARE

Shannon Morris patient experience[2014 Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Speaker Podcast] In our continuing series of leadership interviews, Lonnie Hirsch of Healthcare Success talks with Shannon Morris, Service Excellence Manager, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC.

Shannon Morris patient experience[2014 Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Speaker Podcast] In our continuing series of leadership interviews, Lonnie Hirsch of Healthcare Success talks with Shannon Morris, Service Excellence Manager, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC. Shannon will be speaking at the Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Summit on the topic of: The Power of Peer Coaches: Leveraging the Grassroots Passion for Patient Experience.

As the exclusive provider of pediatric care in the Washington, DC, area, Children’s National is a large organization with 38 locations throughout the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. A peer coach program is one way to help improve the experience of families and patients from the grass roots.

In today’s podcast, Shannon Morris—a certified executive and leadership development coach—talks with Lonnie Hirsch about her upcoming presentation, and in particular, about how peer coaches provide role models for teams and individuals.

More Read

ePatients
ePatients: What’s the Big Deal?
Funding for Cooling Device to Help Paramedics Treat Cardiac Arrest Patients
New Technologies Are Defining Health Information Management
This Week in Washington
Why This Lawyer Won’t Sue Me

healthcare podcast

  • 2014 Patient Experience Summit: The Power of Peer Coaches, Role Models and Champions
  • Cleveland Clinic Speaker Series: Shannon Morris, Children’s National Health System

Some of the highlights from Lonnie’s conversation with Shannon include:

Q: In the context of Patient Experience, tell us about Children’s National Peer Coach Program.

A: Our coaches are role models and champions for patient experience through coaching of colleagues and other staff. The Children’s National Peer Coach program is composed of employees who volunteer for training as peer-to-peer coaches within the organization. These employees act as influencers or change agents. Since 2008, this program has supported staff and created conversations about how we can better serve our families and patients.

Q: Why and how are Peer Coaches effective?

A: Our coaches are a fabulous resource for reaching a large organization and as champions for programs around safety and service. We leverage the International Coaching Federation’s curriculum, methodology and concept of coaching. As a framework, coaching is defined as “partnering with people in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Q: How do you keep a “Peer Coach” motivated?

A: The great thing about our coaches (and because the program is at the grass roots level), we have highly committed and dedicated people with a passion for improving the experience of families and patients and having a significant impact on the organization. Many of them are self-directed and self-motivated…and they really are ambassadors to this work.

Q: How do you measure the effectiveness of a Peer Coach?

A: There are a variety of ways that we monitor effectiveness. Sometimes we go to areas and work directly with a coach. Coaches want to have ‘hands on’ training. We also do an annual retreat for training and development. Sometimes it’s challenging to demonstrate Return-on-Investment. It’s not easy to measure and it’s something we’re working to improve.

Q: How should an organization get started in establishing a Peer Coaching program?

This is a program that can be scaled. You can begin in one particular area and scale it up. You can tackle it across the organization. It’s important to begin in an open way, and make it clear that you’re looking for role models and champions, and not necessarily a “fix it” program, and finding the kind of person who is passionate about this kind of work.

TAGGED:cleveland clinic
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

uv protection in winter
Winter Sun Safety: Why UV Protection Matters Year-Round
Health
October 29, 2025
Nurse Scheduling Software
Evaluating 7 Best Nurse Scheduling Software
Nursing Technology
October 28, 2025
contamination
Batch Failures And The Hidden Costs Of Contamination
Health Infographics
October 21, 2025
Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025

You Might also Like

Verizon, WellPoint, CVS, Walgreens Ally with Former Senators to Push Telehealth Policy Reform

February 14, 2014
Cutting Costs through IROs, medical loss ratio, healthcare
Business

Cutting Costs Through the Medical Loss Ratio & Independent Review Organizations

September 10, 2015

Competition, Investment and Markets in Cell Therapy, Tissue Engineering

January 15, 2012

A Guide to Implementing an Effective Healthcare Solution

November 27, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?