The awards honor five individuals and three healthcare organizations, recognizing their leadership in the areas of patient, employee, and member experience; nursing excellence, and safety

Press Ganey, the leading provider of experience measurement, data analytics and AI-powered insights to health systems and health plans, today announced the recipients of its Executive Human Experience Awards at HX26, the organization’s annual national client conference in Orlando, FL.

The awards honor five individuals and three healthcare organizations in the United States, recognizing their leadership in the areas of patient, employee, and member experience, nursing leadership, and safety.

“This year’s Executive Human Experience award winners reflect what meaningful leadership looks like in practice,” said Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Press Ganey. “Across health systems, health plans, and care teams, these leaders and organizations are driving real improvement in how care is delivered and experienced. Their impact is evident in the care patients receive every day, and Press Ganey is proud to recognize our partners who are setting a higher standard across healthcare.”

This year’s winners include:

HX26 CEO of the Year Award: Warner L. Thomas, President and CEO, Sutter Health; San Francisco

The CEO of the Year Award recognizes a visionary leader who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the human experience in healthcare. Warner Thomas has led a period of significant transformation at Sutter Health since assuming the CEO role in 2022. Under his leadership, Sutter has expanded access to care across Northern California through investments in ambulatory growth, physician recruitment, and digital capabilities, while strengthening organizational culture and workforce development. Thomas is widely recognized for his visible, listening-centered leadership style and for fostering alignment around a shared purpose that connects patients, caregivers, and communities.

HX26 Innovator of the Year Award: Jeffrey A. Flaks, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hartford HealthCare; Hartford, CT

The inaugural Innovator of the Year Award recognizes a healthcare leader who embeds innovation into daily operations to improve access, experience, and performance. Jeffrey A. Flaks, the inaugural recipient, has guided Hartford HealthCare’s evolution into one of the nation’s most forward-looking health systems. Under his leadership, Hartford HealthCare has expanded virtual care, integrated artificial intelligence into clinical workflows, and launched HHC 24/7 to improve access to primary care. Flaks is recognized for advancing innovation that improves both patient experience and caregiver well-being through disciplined execution and cultural alignment.

HX26 CXO of the Year Award: Camille Haycock, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President, Patient Experience, CommonSpirit Health; Denver

The CXO of the Year Award honors a leader who has advanced patient experience as a core component of care delivery. Camille Haycock has led patient experience at CommonSpirit Health through a period of unprecedented disruption, guiding a systemwide approach that integrates experience measurement with quality, safety, and operational accountability. A clinician by background, Haycock has emphasized disciplined use of data to translate patient experience insights into action across hospitals and clinics in more than two dozen states. Her leadership has helped embed patient experience into daily clinical practice and enterprise governance, strengthening trust, consistency, and outcomes across the organization.

HX26 Physician of the Year Award: Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM, Chief Physician Executive, Houston Methodist; Houston

The Physician of the Year Award honors a physician who exemplifies leadership, compassion, and a commitment to advancing the human experience of care. Dr. Shlomit Schaal serves as Chief Physician Executive and President and CEO of the Houston Methodist Physician Organization. She is the founder of the Joy in Medicine Initiative, a physician-led program grounded in listening and learning that elevates clinician voice as the driver of employee experience strategy. Through direct physician engagement, workflow improvements, and targeted investments to reduce administrative burden, Dr. Schaal has strengthened professional fulfillment while reinforcing the connection between clinician well-being, patient experience, and quality outcomes.

HX26 CNO of the Year Award: Nancy Holecek, MAS, MHA, BSN, RN, FNAP, Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer, RWJBarnabas Health; West Orange, NJ

The CNO of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional nursing leader who advances workforce engagement and patient care. Nancy Holecek has spent more than four decades at RWJBarnabas Health, leading nursing strategy across one of the largest academic health systems in the Northeast. Under her leadership, RWJBarnabas Health has strengthened systemwide nursing education, standardized onboarding and competency development, and expanded leadership coaching for frontline nurse leaders. Holecek is recognized for building a culture grounded in kindness, accountability, and psychological safety, ensuring nurses are supported to deliver high-quality, compassionate care.

HX26 High Reliability Organization (HRO) Foundation Award: Providence; Renton, WA

The HRO Foundation Award honors a healthcare organization that demonstrates meaningful, systemwide reductions in serious safety events supported by a strong safety culture. Providence, the 2026 recipient, has embedded its Caring Reliably framework across clinical and operational settings to strengthen reliability, transparency, and learning. Providence has established a durable, enterprise-wide approach to safety, reflected in a learning-oriented culture, shared accountability, and positive safety culture indicators. The organization is recognized for making high reliability a foundational way of working rather than a standalone program.

HX26 Health System of the Year Award: Prisma Health; Greenville, SC

The Health System of the Year Award recognizes an organization that achieves sustained improvement through disciplined leadership and innovation. Prisma Health has implemented a Clinical Operating System that unifies safety, quality, patient experience, workforce engagement, and operations into a single daily management model. Over a three-year period, Prisma Health achieved substantial gains in patient experience, safety outcomes, workforce engagement, and financial performance. Leaders across the organization describe the Clinical Operating System as a durable way of working that has simplified execution, strengthened accountability, and empowered teams at every level.

HX26 Health Plan of the Year Award: Aetna, a CVS Health Company; Hartford, CT

The Health Plan of the Year Award recognizes a health plan that demonstrates sustained improvement and leadership in advancing the human experience. Aetna, a CVS Health company, has delivered consistent gains across member, employer, and provider experience while maintaining strong performance in quality and Medicare Stars outcomes. Aetna is recognized for its early leadership in the HX Exchange, a collaborative approach that links patient experience data from provider systems to member experience outcomes. This work reflects a systems-based approach to experience improvement that strengthens shared accountability across the healthcare ecosystem.

About Press Ganey

Press Ganey is a leading global provider of experience technology, data analytics, and AI-powered insights that help companies better understand and serve their customers, employees, and stakeholders. Press Ganey powers the Human Experience (HX) Platform – a comprehensive experience and research technology platform that brings together CX (Customer Experience), Employee Experience (EX), Patient Experience (PX) and Market Research. It serves more than 43,000 clients globally across healthcare, financial services, hospitality, market research, professional services, retail, technology, and other end markets. Press Ganey is recognized by Gartner® as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant™ for Voice of the Customer (VoC) Platforms.

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