Tampa General Hospital Vice President of Patient Experience Nationally Recognized

Becker’s Hospital Review names Lara Klick an outstanding health system chief experience officer for her leadership and dedication to serving patients and families.

 

Tampa, FL (August 1, 2022) – For her advocacy of patient-centered care and commitment to bridging and enhancing communication between hospital providers and patients, Lara Klick, vice president of Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Patient Experience, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2022 list of Outstanding Chief Experience Officers. Chief experience professionals and patient experience are interchangeable terms.

 

Only the most impactful patient experience officers for hospitals and health systems across the U.S. were selected for this year’s list and honored by Becker’s Hospital Review, a national digital and print publication. A patient experience officer is an expert in communication who advocates for respectful care and who works to elevate the patient journey. They help ensure equitable care and cultural transformation among health care clinicians and staff through team member training, education, patient surveys, data analysis and a focus on patient experience best practices.

 

“Patients honor us by choosing Tampa General – they trust us with their lives. Our Patient Experience team is dedicated to doing the right thing for the people we serve. We do this by informing, educating and guiding hospital clinicians and support teams on best practices and methods to enhance compassionate communication with patients and their families,” said Klick, who has nearly 25 years of expertise specializing in patient experience. “I am humbled to be nationally recognized as a leading Patient Experience officer and privileged to be surrounded by an amazing Tampa General team that’s so passionate about patient-centered care.”

 

The essence of patient-centered care includes support for:

• Coordination, continuity, transition and integration of patient care

• Collaborative care planning with the patient and their family

• Respect for patients' values, preferences and expressed needs

• Support for accessing care

• Emotional support

• Physical comfort

Among the patient experience programs that support patient-centered care that Klick has championed is the Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) at the academic medical center. The council is a diverse group of 45 former patients or family members of patients who meet regularly to advise Tampa General on ways to uplift the patient experience. Council members sit on hospital committees, assist with patient education, and focus groups, and provide valuable feedback on facility design elements from accessibility to patient comfort.

 

“Tampa General is one of the largest hospitals in America, and we view our Patient Family Advisory Council as a best practice for seeing the hospital experience through the eyes of patients and families,” Klick said. “Council members have walked the path as a patient or as a family member of a patient. They offer multiple perspectives that help our providers and staff expand their understanding of patient and family needs beyond clinical care.”

 

In addition to PFAC, patient surveys and analysis of data assist Tampa General’s Patient Experience team in understanding the patient voice. “Power Hours” bring together nurse leaders to share feedback and evidence-based health care best practices for patient rounding – when groups of clinicians visit with patients to review their status and care plans. Ensuring free, qualified language interpretation services and aides for patients under the Americans with Disabilities Act is also essential to patient experience as is working in partnership with hospital chaplains to monitor and maintain the spiritual health of patients, families and team members.

“Patient Experience has a global impact across our organization and through Lara’s leadership, we are always exploring new and innovative ways to achieve a seamless, stressless patient and caregiver experience,” said Dr. Peggy Duggan, Tampa General executive vice president and Chief Medical Officer. “Lara is an outstanding Patient Experience leader and we are so fortunate to have her advocate for our patients and our team members.” 

Klick is one of only 52 Patient Experience officers honored by Becker’s Hospital Review in its 2022 list of Outstanding Chief Experience Officers. View the complete list here.

About Tampa General Hospital

Tampa General Hospital, the Tampa Bay region’s only academic health system, is a 1,529-bed not-for-profit network of hospital and outpatient services spanning across Florida. As the only center for Level I trauma and comprehensive burn care center serving 23 counties, Tampa General delivers world-class care. The system’s hospitals include Tampa General Hospital, Tampa General Rehabilitation Hospital, Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, all in Tampa; Tampa General Brooksville, Tampa General Spring Hill and Tampa General Crystal River. Tampa General is the highest-ranked hospital in Tampa Bay in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025–2026 Best Hospitals, with six medical specialties ranking among the top 50 in the nation and five additional medical specialties ranked among the top 10% best hospital programs in the United States. As the first hospital in Florida to open a clinical command center for real-time situational awareness, the academic health system has elevated its digital care coordination center to the next level by leveraging artificial intelligence and its analytics platform across inpatient and outpatient care to ensure patients receive leading-edge care as quickly and safely as possible. Tampa General’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings — in the 2025 America's Best Large Employers, ranked as the Tampa Bay region's #1 employer in the health care category for the fifth year in a row and among the top five in the state of Florida, in the 2025 Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women.

Tampa General is the area’s safety-net hospital, caring for anyone regardless of ability to pay; in fiscal year 2024, Tampa General provided a net community benefit of approximately $289.1 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It was the nation’s No. 1 adult solid organ transplant center in 2024 and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General transports critically injured or ill patients from surrounding counties to receive the advanced care their conditions require. Tampa General has a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It is home to the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General’s footprint includes TGH North, which consists of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties; 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices; TGH Family Care Center Kennedy; two TGH outpatient centers; TGH Virtual Health; and 19 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care, powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.