by John Howser
David Haynes, MD, MMHC, professor of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery and Hearing and Speech Sciences, and Vice Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, has been named as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s new Chief Patient Experience Officer (CXO). He will assume this role on July 1, succeeding Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, who served for 10 years as VUMC’s founding CXO.
In this role, Haynes will report to Rick Wright, MD, System Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs. Haynes will be responsible for being the voice of VUMC’s patients while developing and executing operational strategies and procedures that keep patients’ needs at the center of care.
The delivery of health care is a human endeavor, and each day brings countless opportunities for successes and failures involving customer service. Service is one of VUMC’s Five Pillars, with Patient Experience under the Service Pillar, included as one of the Medical Center’s key performance metrics. Vanderbilt Health’s mission is “personalizing the patient experience through our caring spirit and remarkable capabilities,” while the Patient and Family Promise sets expectations for what patients should experience and how personalized care is delivered.
“Our patients should always be at the center of everything we do. As a world-leading cochlear implant surgeon, Dr. Haynes has spent his career delivering outstanding clinical results, but he has also spent years considering, crafting and perfecting the patient experience that accompanies this service. His long-standing familiarity with our organization combined with his unwavering commitment to patient-focused care make him well qualified for this new role,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer, and. “As I welcome Dr. Haynes as our new CXO, I want to again thank Dr. Sternberg for his leadership as VUMC’s founding patient experience leader. While there is always more to do, Paul and his team have achieved remarkable results.”
Supporting Haynes in this role are operational areas led by Brian Carlson, MHA, Vice President, Patient Experience, including the frontline departments of Guest Services, Patient Relations, Patient Experience and Facilitated Patient Services.
VUMC receives nearly 270,000 patient satisfaction surveys and more than 280,000 comments annually, a number that continues to grow as clinical locations and services expand. Scores related to patient experience continue to improve year over year. Positive comments from patients now exceed 76% of comments received, compared to four years ago when about 66% were positive. Most positive remarks share praise for the doctors, nurses and staff and how VUMC employees make them feel. A high percentage of positive comments also relate to VUMC’s reputation and patients’ loyalty to the Medical Center.
“I am excited to work with Dr. Haynes as he takes on this new role. He has established a reputation as an outstanding clinician focused on patient outcomes who strives to make their care as seamless as possible. I know he will build on the success of Paul Sternberg, our original Chief Patient Experience Officer,” Wright said.
Haynes, who is the Program Director for the Adult and Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program and who holds an Endowed Directorship in Relationship Development, joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1996 and has since advanced through a series of successive roles and responsibilities. After serving as assistant and associate professor, he was promoted to professor in 2010.
Throughout a very active career, Haynes’ contributions as a physician scientist have advanced the field of hearing and speech sciences and the application of cochlear implants in adults and children. He is the author or co-author of more than 270 peer-reviewed publications.
“David built the largest ear disorders clinic in the country over the past 25 years by understanding the needs of patients. He is one of the most patient centered doctors I have ever met,” said Eben Rosenthal, MD, Baker Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Working collaboratively, Haynes and his team have developed an international referral center for acoustic neuroma tumors, hearing loss and cochlear implantation. Collaborating with the Departments of Neurosurgery and Hearing and Speech Sciences, the Skull Base program is one of the top destination care centers in the world. The Cochlear Implant Program is the number-one program in the country of its kind and is considered a top destination in the world for these surgeries.
“It is an incredible honor to succeed Paul Sternberg in this role as CXO. Paul and his team have been tireless advocates of delivering world class healthcare in a patient-centered, patient-focused approach. I am extremely honored and excited to work closely with Rick Wright and other vital members of this renown patient experience team,” said Haynes.
A member of numerous professional associations and societies, Haynes serves as a mentor to students, trainees and junior faculty. He has hosted multiple national and international symposiums on cochlear implantation and has been a graduation speaker at leading universities.
Haynes has been the recipient of many awards, recently including the Vice-Presidential Citation at the Triological Society in 2023. The editors of Glasscock and Shambaugh Surgery of the Ear awarded him by renaming the 7th edition of the book Haynes, Glasscock and Shambaugh Surgery of the Ear, to be published in the Fall of 2023. More importantly, his proudest achievements are the achievements of his residents and fellows, who hold multiple leadership positions in acclaimed academic centers across the county.
He earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Microbiology and Spanish Literature from the University of Tennessee and his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He also holds a Master of Management in Healthcare from the Vanderbilt Owen School of Business. He served his Internship and Residency in General Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Vanderbilt and underwent Fellowship training in Otology/Neutology/Skull Base Surgery with the Otology Group/The EAR Foundation.
