Patient Experience Manager Helps Patients and Families

One of the first things Nancy Feldman did when she began her job in January 2011 as the first-ever Manager of the Patient Experience at The Tisch Cancer Institute’s Ruttenberg Treatment Center--Mount Sinai’s outpatient care center for patients with cancer and hematological disorders--was to turn a closet in the main waiting area that was stuffed with office supplies into a coat closet. 

"I noticed that patients were coming in, sometimes with rain-soaked coats, and had to sit in the waiting room holding them," she said. "It was a small thing, but I realized it was something I could easily do that would help patients feel a little better while they were here." Observing the full patient experience and "doing little things on the spot" to make patients’ and their families’ time at Ruttenberg more comfortable is a big part of her job, says Feldman. 

A ‘Family Member’ with Inside Knowledge 

Feldman’s job description gives her the luxury to jump in wherever she feels she can be helpful, she says. "I like to be thought of as a family member with inside knowledge of the hospital," she explains. In fact, one of her proudest moments was when she was mistaken by a doctor as a patient’s daughter. 

Many of her interactions at Ruttenberg begin when she sees someone who looks lost or overwhelmed. "Hi, I’m Nancy Feldman, can I help you?" she says, guiding the person by the arm. Then, she and that patient might be together for minutes, or hours, depending on the patient’s need, says Feldman. 

She will check with a doctor’s medical assistant when an anxious patient wonders how long their wait is likely to be (which, she says, is one of the main things patients want to know). Feldman’s help may even begin before the patient walks in the door. She might be the person providing directions over the phone. Or, she may follow up on behalf of a new patient prior to their first appointment to ensure that all of their records from their referring physician are in place. And she’s been known to run out to the main entrance to help a patient in while her husband parks the car. Feldman gives everyone she meets her card with her phone number on it. "Once I meet someone, they can be pretty sure I’m going to stay in touch," she says. 

A Role Shaped by Personal Experience 

Feldman’s keen understanding of exactly how daunting hospitals can sometimes be for patients and families derives, in part, from her own personal experience. A native New Yorker, she comes from a family where there is a high incidence of cancer, and her connection to Mount Sinai dates back many years. Her mother was treated for ovarian cancer at Mount Sinai, and Feldman vividly remembers riding the train into New York City and taking the bus up Madison Avenue when she was 13 years-old to visit her mother at Mount Sinai. 

It was the experience of her mother’s illness and later helping other family members with the logistics of their illnesses that made Feldman realize in mid-life that what she really wanted to do professionally was to give peer support to families with cancer. Feldman was an investment banker before she quit her job in 1997 to spend more time with her two young daughters. It was during that time that she began volunteering and networking with people who were doing what she thought she wanted to do. The position of patient experience manager began to take shape in her mind, and she decided to approach Mount Sinai about it. Through a networking contact she was introduced to Ruttenberg Center leadership, and Feldman described the position she envisioned. It turns out that they had long been thinking of creating just such a position. The position was created and Feldman was hired to fill it. It is the first of its kind at Mount Sinai. 

Looking Ahead 

Now, after almost a year in the job, Feldman is putting the finishing touches on a welcome packet for new patients, one filled with tips for getting around Ruttenberg that Feldman has culled from her time here. She’s also working to expand the patient experience volunteer program she started, which stresses "establishing the human connection" with patients, Feldman says. She’s trained seven volunteers to date and she’s looking for more. Feldman’s face lights up when she describes how one of "her volunteers" brings homemade muffins in on the days she volunteers and serves them to patients on a fancy tray. This reminds Feldman that she needs to complete the paperwork on a work order to get a coffee station set up in the waiting room. She started it awhile back. "I keep getting distracted," she says with a laugh.