← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Erin Shipley, CEN, MSN, RN, Vice President of Consumer Experience at Cooper University Health Care
00:23:29
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- [00:02]
A
The most important healthcare decisions don't happen in isolation. They happen when leaders come together. Becker's 16th annual meeting brings together more than 3,500 hospital and health system executives this April in Chicago. With 800 speakers from Ascension, Cleveland Clinic, Common Spirit, and more, the conversations get real. Leaders will share how their scenario planning for policy shifts brief, breaking through value based care barriers and building clinical teams that translate new ideas into real world care. Join top decision makers in the room April 13th through the 16th. For the agenda and event details, visit BeckersHospitalReview.com and click on the Events tab in the upper right.
- [00:46]
B
This is Laura Deardau with the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Erin Shipley, Vice President of Consumer experience at Cooper University Healthcare. Erin, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
- [00:58]
C
Thank you, Laura. Glad to be here.
- [01:00]
B
Absolutely. Now, excited for our conversation. I know we'll dig deep into some of the cool things you're doing at Cooper University Healthcare and how you're thinking about the future. But before we dive in, can you tell me a little bit more about yourself and the health system?
- [01:11]
C
Of course. So again, Erin Shipley. I'm the Vice President of Consumer Experience at Cooper University Healthcare. We are in Camden, New Jersey, so we are the largest level one trauma center in southern New Jersey. You know, if you think geographically, we're right across the Delaware river from Philadelphia. Our main hospital has just over 650 inpatient beds. We see over 90,000 patients in our emergency department annually. So rocking and rolling over 130 primary care and specialty offices. Big team, over 1700 physicians and advanced practice providers with over 95 specialties and subspecialties. So I'm a registered nurse by background. Spent really the last 15 years in the patient and consumer strategy world. And at Cooper, I lead all of our strategy around patient efforts, consumer strategy, improvement work and support for our leaders and the delivery of the amazing care that they provide every single day.
- [02:18]
B
Absolutely. That's amazing to hear. And, you know, such an important thing that every healthcare organization has to do is kind of look out in the community and making sure they're, you know, providing the right care and access to care, which is not always easy, easy. So very, very much with respect to what you're doing there and what you're up against. Now, can you talk about the most important initiative that you led in the last year or so? What did you do and what were the results?
- [02:42]
C
Yeah, so I'm a nurse and I started my career out in the emergency department. And so that team has been really close to my heart over the years and there's a lot of work to do in the emergency department spaces. But at the end of 2024, we had a call to action and we wanted to do our work differently in our emergency department and innovate that ED experience. So we launched what we call our Cooper Experience Excellence program. And that is completely focused on the experience, not just for the patients and the families in the ed, but everyone, physicians and providers, our frontline team members, our essential partners who support that care. We really wanted to look at the complete picture and rather than get really stuck by focusing on the scores, our team launched a system wide, operationally embedded approach to thinking differently about how we improve that patient, family and team member experience. What that looks like is that we take the evidence based practices around communication care delivery and we've translated that into what right looks like for daily observable behavior. What we're looking for leaders to do in terms of their leader standard work and it has a very strong emphasis on rounding by multiple team members. We're focused on tying all of that work back to our high reliability journey and some really thoughtful recognition. Right? We lose the opportunity a lot to recognize our team members. And so we started there first. And so we added a layer of patient ambassadors who support our clinical team members. Those folks focus on closing the communication gaps for patient and family members. And so while they're proactively rounding on patients and families, those ambassadors focus on providing real time updates to care plans. They're narrating and helping with any questions around wait times and delays. They are providing support for comfort needs, reducing that burden off of our clinical team members. And then they are working with the flow managers and charge mercenaries, charge nurses to keep that patient care spaces moving. Right. They're looking at the tracking board, seeing what testing is complete, helping to move people around so that no one is really forgotten. Results wise, we documented over 125,000 rounds in 2025 on patients. Reduce that left without triage so patients who leave and don't get the care that they need, we're under 1.5%, which is well below the national standard. Improved our average doctor to disposition time to just around 136 minutes. And so when you're thinking about, you know, a patient who presents to the ED who is needing testing, that's just over two hours, which is well below that standard. And so that you know, all that to say great results and good results from a patient experience perspective, we had struggled in that space. We're below the 40th percentile nationally, and in one year, we were able to move those scores. We're now above the 79th, 79th percentile nationally for likelihood to recommend when we compare ourselves against, like, emergency departments. And our physician and provider communication scores are over the 95th percentile nationally. So even though those ambassadors and rounders aren't clinical, we see that translation to help the patient's perception of experience across all of our care disciplines.
- [06:40]
B
That's fascinating to hear. What a great and important initiative to be putting forth. I think, especially as you mentioned, it's great care and being able to provide that quality of care for patients, making sure that they get the care that they need quickly, and then two, following through with that. So, as you mentioned, there are very few of those patients that are leaving without the right kind of care and triage. And so I really feel like this is a huge, huge win for the organization. And I'm curious, as you were going through some of these changes, and obviously you were able to get results, but what were some of the things that your teams had to do differently or types of systems, processes, technologies you had to put in place in order to get there?
- [07:25]
C
Well, one, we started with making sure that those team members had access to the EPIC tracking board. We provided them with tablets so that they didn't have to go and find a computer or burden a clinical team member to open a chart. We wanted to make sure that they had direct access to all of the things that they needed to do that work. So that involved some shadowing. We asked our team members to shadow the RNs and the physicians that they were going to be working directly with. We created that open line of communication where it was almost like a pilot in progress. Every week we were meeting with our emergency department leadership to say, what else? What else can we take off of your plate? We didn't want our clinical team. I think of it like skill, task alignment. Right? Like, we don't want our highly talented clinical team members focused on some of those things that we. We have other people to support. We want them focused on the delivery of care and that communication and assisting with throughput. Right. We have other members of our team who can divide and conquer and help support those other initiatives. So it's. It was just a different way of saying, okay. We didn't really have to add any team members. We already had members of our patient relations teams that were helping to support some of that work. And so we really just looked at their roles Differently and leaned really hard into what our emergency department leaders and nurses were asking for.
- [09:12]
B
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for digging a little bit deeper there and kind of giving us an inside look on how you did all of this. Now, looking ahead, what are some of your big priorities? Recent headwinds for 2026.
- [09:23]
C
Yeah, you know, digging into 26, our. We talk about access. Our focus is really centered around improving that access and ensuring a seamless clinical experience across that entire continuum of care. We know we're not alone. A lot of healthcare systems nationwide are navigating significant headwinds. You know, we are dealing with an aging population with more, more complex chronic conditions. We've got patients who come into our ED and our direct admissions to our hospitals that are sicker than they've ever been before. They have higher acuity levels. We have patients in our community who are delaying care for a variety of reasons, right. Until their issues become urgent and then we see, see them. And so that's a national trend that increases demand on those acute care settings. And it requires, from our perspective, really thoughtful and system level solutions. I mean, for us, I've been talking a lot about the emergency department, but that means continuing to charge ahead on strengthening ED throughput. It means that we have to innovate our inpatient flow on the back end around discharges. And that looks like expanding our ambulatory capacity so that patients receive the care in the right setting at the right time. So it's not just about throughput operationally. Right. But it, you know, because it actually impacts, you know, patient safety and patient experience. But team member, well being, like, let's not forget that, you know, when we have inefficient systems, that impacts the people at the elbow of care the most, not just the patients. It's harder to deliver care when those systems aren't working. So when we think about those access challenges, when hospitals operate near and over capacity, even the smallest insufficient inefficiencies and those pebbles in the shoe can cascade really quickly and create a negative environment for everyone. So our key strategy at Cooper is accelerating those appropriate transitions of care to outpatient settings. It is a cultural challenge. Right. So many patients, historically, they remain in acute inpatient beds while awaiting testing or follow up. That for all reasons, that follow up can happen safely outside of the hospital. And so when we strengthen our outpatient infrastructure and improve that coordination across our care teams, we can drive and reduce unnecessary hospital days while preserving that capacity in house for our sickest patients who may need that inpatient Critical care and those access challenges, you know, as we look at our post acute providers and our community partners, they are critical for us being able to do that because it requires a super strong collaboration to be able to make those safe discharges happen. Our goal, when we think through all of these headwinds and how we're going to be successful is that we have to create a system that feels coordinated and responsive and we're constantly innovating so that we are identifying those barriers and that we try to minimize them and that we have these moves happen efficiently without compromising the clinical quality that we've been known for.
- [13:27]
B
That makes a lot of sense and it's no small task to make sure everything's coordinated and truly getting to a space where, you know, the organization is optimized in a way that it never has been before, both from the patient experience side as well as the team member experience too. I know that it makes a huge difference if everything is working and flowing and transitioning in the way it's supposed to. Now I'm curious, what do you think the hardest thing you'll have to do in the coming year will be?
- [13:55]
C
That's so funny. So I coach my leaders and my team every day not to get discovered, distracted by the rapid pace of change that's hap that, you know, we, we are familiar with change in healthcare. That is normal, the pace of that is new. It is the daily fires that prevent us from progressing our strategic priorities and action plans. That it's just that is the reality. And so we have to navigate this really common pothole that leaders and teams tend to fall into. And it takes commitment to take a step back and try to remain organized, make sure that we are seeking out and leveraging technology to assist with project management. I'm a huge student of AI and finding different ways to make our way work more efficient. And it's not just the technology piece, but it is about knowing who are your support systems? How do we pull in appropriate leaders and teams to assist when we are being pulled in a lot of different directions. And you know, I think some of this is about empowering others too. You know, we, we have to commit to doing a better job of looking thoughtfully at leader development and developing leaders within our span of control to be able to lead initiatives on their own. I think of this like dividing and conquering. It is much better to grow someone, to be able to drive initiatives, maybe with clear direction and guidelines, versus all of us having this like fear of missing out and attempting to attend every meeting Together just because we're trying to support and check each other. But ultimately that comes down to trust. Like if I feel like I have to attend every meeting for my direct report leaders to make sure that they're staying on top of their action plans and their projects where none of us are going to get anything done. So at some point we have to have those skills to delegate appropriately. We need to be able to have clear role clarity on who is responsible for a project and who has the authority to make decisions and empower leaders to, you know, not seek perfection, although that's really attractive. Right is to have that perfect world, but instead to seek progress and to chip away at work that's going to yield better results and successes versus all of us spinning or waiting for a perfect solution to a problem
- [17:00]
B
that makes a lot of sense. It's so insightful because I think no matter what the organization, when you look out and start continuing to grow in your leadership role, having those direct reports, being able to independently carry on the message and carry out that strategy is so, so critical to meet the demands even as you were talking about earlier in our conversation of the fast paced environment and how quickly things are changing. So I really appreciate that reflection and certainly, you know, it's easier said than done, I can imagine in many ways. But you know, so helpful to kind of keep that in mind especially for leaders as they're trying to figure out how they'll continue to grow and change and evolve with the times.
- [17:46]
C
Well, and when you talk about headwinds, you know, there are a lot of organizations who as they're looking to try to navigate, you know, the financial pieces that they're coming up against, you know, they're looking hard at their organizational leadership and development teams and training and you know, at Cooper, we're recommitting to that work because we recognize how important it is to not just develop the leaders that we have, but also looking at our emerging leaders, looking at our champions, trying to make sure that we're constantly have that eye ahead to preparing people to be their best and authentic selves at work.
- [18:28]
B
I love that that's so helpful. I know everybody kind of brings their own strengths to the team and can lean into the spaces where they can make the biggest impact and naturally continue to lead growing at the same time. I know it's a critical balance to strike, but important for any teams as they're moving forward. Now, before we wrap up, I wanted to ask about growth. Where do you see some of these best opportunities for organizational growth in the Future.
- [18:54]
C
Yeah. Well, I'm a patient experience person. I remain passionate and committed to Cooper's growth and strategy around creating that ideal patient centric care environment where it's not just about the patient and family experience itself, but improving our current and potential opportunities for patient communications. I think about our digital roadmap and our footprint and how we can leverage technology in a way that each individual patient wants to receive that communication and how they want to engage with technology through our health system. That's a huge organizational growth priority for us when we dig in and look at prioritizing preventative care strategies and wellness programs that attract new patients, but also reduce healthcare costs, costs for everyone. One really big example that is close to my heart is I help to co lead our strategic work with the care of our patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We call it our IDD program. And this is a program that we are continuing to rapidly grow, but it's developing wraparound services to better serve a population of patients that is also growing. You know, we know that, you know, it's about 1 in 4 adults with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 44, 45, that don't have a usual healthcare provider and they, they're not receiving routine checkups and have unmet healthcare needs and costs. And so we, we understand at Cooper that these patients may experience the world in different ways and that because of that they are unable to get the care that is most meaningful and important to them. And so we, we have grown and launched our mobile care program where we actually expand and we bring primary care services for our patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities to the home setting or the group home, that's a more familiar environment for that patient. So when we make that change and we say, you know, we know you haven't been able to get to the office and we know that, you know, group homes may not be able to send someone with the patient and support and so then they cancel the appointment. When we can actually bring that care to, to them where the patient is best to receive it, it's easier for everyone. We're able to follow through with testing that they have maybe have been unsuccessful in capturing in the office because the patient is distressed and we bring that care in the right setting to them. So then we're able to expand access to care to that patient population. Population. We're able to reduce no show rates for the patients in the office. And then that also opens up care spaces for new patients who need to be seen in our office setting. So, you know, check, check, check, you know, it's certainly the right thing to do, but when we look at, you know, access to care and outpatient ambulatory growth, this is, this is a no brainer for us. And it's definitely been purpose driven. It's kind of the pinch me moment. I never expected to be so close to this work, but it is very passion filled, purpose driven.
- [22:51]
B
I love that. Erin, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. This has been such an amazing conversation. I really feel inspired by all the work that you're doing at Cooper University Healthcare and look forward to seeing you again soon, continuing this conversation. I know you'll be speaking at our annual meeting, so this will be a lot of fun to see you in person.
- [23:09]
C
Great. Thanks Laura. Thanks for the invite.