Huntsville Hospital

Does Leadership Rounding Truly Improve Patient Experience?

Pat Jackson, a seasoned patient experience leader, has dedicated recent years to building meaningful connections between healthcare leaders and the patients they serve. She has implemented several targeted rounding programs—including leadership rounds, patient experience rounds, advocacy rounds and chaplaincy rounds—with the goal of creating a culture of visibility, responsiveness and trust. These initiatives aimed to move beyond standard processes and ensure that patients felt truly seen and heard during their stay.

Among the most impactful strategies was a structured program that assigned every leader a designated group of patient rooms to visit weekly. Leaders were asked to complete rounding audit forms and escalate any concerns to the appropriate departments in real time. The model drew inspiration from hospitality best practices—comparable to a restaurant manager checking on each table—and helped bring a personal, intentional touch to the patient experience.

Some leaders began rounding with clipboards labeled “Nurse Leader”, others wrote their names and roles on the patient care board, and several opted to leave business cards to encourage ongoing communication. These seemingly small actions had a big impact, reinforcing transparency and accountability.

While Jackson initiated these programs, she acknowledges that early efforts faced a common challenge: sustainability. Without full organizational buy-in, the work risked becoming another short-term “flavor of the month.” Some leaders embraced rounding with enthusiasm, while others were hesitant to step outside their operational comfort zones.

“Even the best-designed programs can fall flat without leadership alignment. But when senior executives lead from the front, the work becomes embedded in culture, not compliance.”

The turning point came when Jackson presented a new model to her executive leadership team, one she had discovered at a national patient experience conference. She learned that other hospitals had begun blocking out time—often Fridays—for all leaders to round, canceling meetings and focusing exclusively on connecting with patients. The proposal gained powerful momentum when the hospital’s President fully embraced the idea and took ownership of the effort.  That single shift made all the difference.

Now led directly by the President, the initiative took on new weight. It became more than a patient experience program—it became a structured, visible, executive-level priority that is now embedded into the organization’s culture. That leadership shift was pivotal.

To ensure consistency and visibility, the President places a calendar invite on each leader’s schedule, blocking a four-hour window from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. dedicated solely to patient rounding. Before rounds begin, he meets with all participating leaders in the executive suite to review the focus and key themes for the day—often centered on patient safety and experience. This pre-round huddle sets a unified tone and expectation for every encounter.

By partnering closely with the President and Chief Nursing Officer, Jackson ensures that patient experience strategies are aligned with system-wide goals.  Jackson understands that to maintain lasting success, the narrative must shift from “this is a patient experience project” to “this is who we are as an organization.”  As a seasoned PX leader in the industry for many years, she recognizes that this cultural shift requires both strategic alignment and executive commitment. Because at the end of the day, the patient experience isn’t owned by a single team—it’s powered by leadership, purpose, and presence.

Moreover, when leadership rounds are done with intention and structure, they can transform both culture and outcomes- one patient, one leader and one conversation at a time.

Even the best-designed programs can fall flat without leadership alignment. But when senior executives lead from the front, the work becomes embedded in culture, not compliance. Once rounds are completed, any concerns or service issues identified are expected to be followed up promptly. Each leader is personally responsible for resolving those issues, reinforcing ownership, accountability and trust at every level.

With the President at the forefront, rounding has now become a meaningful, strategic and non-negotiable. The cultural shift was clear: patient experience was no longer the responsibility of one department; it was everyone’s responsibility.

From 2022 to 2025, the impact of this structured and executive-led effort became measurable:

• The percentage of patients who said they did not see a leader decreased by 1.47%

• Those who were uncertain about seeing a leader increased by 3.32%.

• The number of patients who confirmed they were visited by a leader increased by 2.97%.

In addition, the correlation between leader presence and HCAHPS scores was striking:

• Patients who did not recall a visit from a leader gave an “Always” score of just 41%.

• Those who were uncertain scored their experience significantly higher at 73%.

• Patients who were confident they had been visited by a leader gave top marks at 78%.

That’s a 33-point swing, rooted entirely in perception and human connection. With these results, the hospital’s ranking moved from the third quartile to the top quartile in national benchmarks for leader rounding and visibility.

Looking ahead, Jackson plans to run deeper analytics at the unit level to assess performance and rounding effectiveness across the organization to address the perceived uncertainty of leadership rounds. She will continue meeting with leaders to reinforce the importance of declaring their roles during rounds and ensuring their presence is recognized by patients.  She will also identify and recognize leaders who show improvement in their data, while encouraging and supporting those with opportunities for growth.