A ‘Byrd’s eye view’ of The Sharp Experience

“Good morning all, it’s the 18th day of the Thankful Month,” says Kim Byrd, as she begins a November morning report on Sharp Grossmont Hospital’s daily High Reliability Organization call.

As a decision support analyst in The Sharp Experience Center (TSEC) at Sharp Grossmont, Kim is able to highlight team and individual contributions to the patient experience, sharing stories and feedback that ensure the voice of the patient always has a seat at the table. TSEC is Sharp Grossmont’s hospital hub, helping to capture real-time data to transform into actionable information, focusing on areas such as quality, safety, throughput, hospitality and service.

“Being able to convert a less than positive patient experience encounter into a positive one is challenging but brings me joy both personally and professionally,” Kim says.

Helping put hospital employees in the shoes of patients
Aside from her chief role of improving patient experience through thoughtful, two-way feedback, Kim is involved in many other patient communication initiatives, all with the goal of inspiring her colleagues to make special connections with patients and put themselves in their shoes.

When COVID-19 hit and families could no longer visit their loved ones in the hospital, Kim was chosen to head up its new Family Resource Center (FRC). Families can now come to the FRC to drop off items for loved ones, “visit” them with IPads provided by the hospital and much more.

Kim also heads up the Patient Experience segment of the hospital’s own “Grossmont Welcomes You” new employee orientation, to set new team members on the right path from the get-go.

In 2019, using virtual reality technology, Kim helped Sharp Grossmont’s nursing team put together its educational retreat, centered on recreating a patient’s hospital experience.

This year, at the request of Sharp-affiliated doctors looking to improve their own rapport with patients, she rounded to provide feedback in real time, offering her view on their interaction skills, and tips on things such has now to make conversations with patients warm and friendly.

Born to deliver The Sharp Experience
A transplant from Virginia with her husband, a 30-year Navy veteran, Kim seems born to deliver The Sharp Experience. With San Diego’s large military population, Kim says their house often serves as the home away from home for many active duty military members away from their own families. She also helps support and counsel military families through her church, drawing on her family’s own experience with the sacrifices military families make, and the toll it can take on couples and family life in general.

“Our favorite thing is to host huge holiday gatherings – sometimes with more than 100 people — blending our southern roots with different cultural dishes,” says Kim. “Now we’re trying to figure out how to virtually host and provide care packages for our extended family worldwide.”

When you put it all together, it’s a breeze to understand why Kim chose to make the Sharp Experience Center to be her home.

“I live for the opportunity to extend kindness,” she says. “I think of each patient interaction as an opportunity to be kind, share a smile and despite their medical journey, feel like they’ve been heard.”