Healthcare Experience Foundation Welcomes Whitney Murphy as Chief of Staff

Pensacola, Fla. — February 1, 2026 — The Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF), a nationally recognized organization dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience through stronger teams and improved patient outcomes, today announced the appointment of Whitney Murphy as Chief of Staff, effective February 1, 2026. Murphy brings more than 15 years of senior-level healthcare leadership experience, a certified coaching practice, and a deep commitment to building psychologically safe environments where teams can speak up, innovate, and deliver exceptional care.

A Proven Leader in Complex Healthcare Environments

Murphy arrives at HXF with a distinguished career spanning executive operations leadership at some of the nation’s most respected health systems. She has served as Vice President of Surgical Services at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Vice President of Operations at Asante Health System, where she led large-scale initiatives focused on strengthening efficiency, quality, and strategic alignment across complex, high-stakes clinical environments.

This firsthand experience navigating the realities of hospital and health system operations gives Murphy a distinctive vantage point as she steps into the Chief of Staff role. Her understanding of how organizations are structured, how leaders are stretched, and what it takes to advance culture while sustaining performance directly aligns with the Foundation’s mission to equip healthcare leaders with the tools, insights, and strategies needed to transform their teams and their organizations.

“Whitney brings something rare to our team — she’s both a seasoned healthcare executive who has lived these challenges from the inside, and a skilled coach who knows how to unlock the best in the people around her. Her ability to bridge strategy and human connection is exactly what our organization and the leaders we serve need.”

Win Howard, SVP & Managing Partner, HXF

Championing Psychological Safety as a Strategic Imperative

In addition to her executive leadership credentials, Murphy is an experienced coach and a certified practitioner of The Fearless Organization Scan — a validated diagnostic tool designed to measure and build psychological safety within teams and organizations. Her coaching practice centers on creating environments where people feel genuinely safe to voice concerns, challenge assumptions, and engage in the kind of candid dialogue that drives continuous improvement and high performance.

For healthcare organizations where communication breakdowns can carry life-or-death consequences, psychological safety is not a soft skill — it is a clinical and operational imperative. Murphy’s expertise in translating this concept from theory into measurable practice positions HXF to deepen its impact with the hospital and health system leaders it serves, helping them cultivate the trust, openness, and accountability that high-performing care teams require.

“I’ve spent my career watching what happens when people don’t feel safe to speak up — and what becomes possible when they do. The Healthcare Experience Foundation is doing work that genuinely matters to the people delivering and receiving care every day, and I’m honored to be part of that mission. I look forward to bringing everything I’ve learned to help the leaders and organizations we serve build teams that are not only high-performing, but truly thriving.”

Whitney Murphy, Chief of Staff, HXF

About the Healthcare Experience Foundation

The Healthcare Experience Foundation is a nationally recognized organization dedicated to improving the quality of care and healthcare delivery by transforming the experience of those who receive and deliver care. Founded in 2017, the Foundation brings together senior healthcare leaders, clinicians, and change agents to equip hospitals and health systems with the expertise, tools, and strategies needed to build stronger teams, elevate patient experiences, and drive lasting organizational transformation. Its work spans patient experience improvement, employee and physician engagement, culture transformation, and leadership development through coaching, consulting, and educational programs.