Healthcare Experience Foundation Launches HX Academy, an On-Demand Learning Platform Built Exclusively for Healthcare Teams

Pensacola, Fla. — February 2, 2024 — The Healthcare Experience Foundation (HXF), a nationally recognized organization dedicated to transforming the experience of those who receive and deliver care, today announced the launch of HX Academy — a purpose-built, on-demand learning platform designed to equip healthcare teams with the skills, frameworks, and confidence they need to deliver exceptional care, every patient, every time. Developed from lessons learned across more than 500 hospitals and health systems, HX Academy translates the Foundation’s deepest clinical and operational expertise into a growing library of bite-sized video courses that teams can access anytime, anywhere.

HX Academy is designed for the realities of modern healthcare: time-compressed, high-stakes, and demanding constant development across every level of the organization. Courses are delivered in five-minute-or-less video lessons, produced by award-winning producers and taught by the same senior advisors and patient experience experts who work with healthcare systems across the country. Individual lessons are available for purchase, or teams can unlock the full library with an All-Access Pass — with enterprise and custom training solutions also available for health systems seeking a scalable, organization-wide approach.

Training Built for the Pressures Healthcare Teams Are Actually Under

The conditions facing healthcare organizations today demand more than compliance-based training. With hospital RN turnover averaging 16.4% in 2024 — and replacement costs exceeding $61,000 per nurse — the financial and operational consequences of disengagement and skill gaps compound quickly. At the same time, HCAHPS 2.0, implemented January 1, 2025, introduced new accountability measures and domains that require teams across the organization to understand, internalize, and act on a higher standard of patient-centered care.

Traditional training approaches — one-time workshops, static e-learning modules, generic compliance courses — are not built to drive the kind of behavioral change that moves the needle on culture, experience, and outcomes. HX Academy is. Its micro-learning format fits into team meetings, onboarding programs, and individual professional development plans alike. Lessons are grounded in real clinical scenarios, immediately actionable, and supported by downloadable e-worksheets that reinforce learning on the floor.

"We built HX Academy because we kept hearing the same thing from the healthcare leaders we work with: ‘We know what our teams need to learn — we just don’t have the time or the infrastructure to get it in front of them consistently.’ HX Academy solves that problem. It puts the best of what we know about patient experience, communication, culture, and engagement directly in the hands of the people who need it most, when they need it, in a format that respects their time and speaks to their reality.”

Katie Owens, President of Healthcare Experience Foundation

A Growing Library Organized Around What Matters Most in Healthcare

The HX Academy course catalog is organized across four thematic areas that reflect the full scope of what drives — and undermines — patient experience and team performance in healthcare organizations. Each course contains multiple video lessons and is designed to be deployed flexibly: as part of a structured onboarding program, a targeted training intervention, a team meeting discussion starter, or a self-directed professional development plan.

Culture, Engagement & Leadership

Strong patient experiences begin with strong teams. This pillar addresses the leadership behaviors, organizational practices, and workforce realities that define whether people show up engaged — or don’t. Courses in this area include:

• Senior Leader Rounding on Physicians and Providers — building trust and alignment between medical staff and executive leadership
• Amplifying Emotional Intelligence (EQ) — developing the self-awareness and relational skills that define effective leaders
• Reward & Recognition, Retention, and Burnout & Resiliency — practical frameworks for sustaining engagement and reducing turnover
• DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and Teamwork — building the inclusive, collaborative cultures where excellent care is possible
• Creating HCAHPS 2.0 Excellence — updated for the January 2025 survey changes, covering all new and revised domains
• Primary Care – Patient Experience of Care Survey — navigating the five domains of the PCF experience survey
• Hourly Rounding, Patient Rounding, and Accelerating Medical Practice Success — evidence-based practices to improve quality, safety, and the patient experience across care settings
• CARES™ for Patient Communication — a six-part framework for creating authentic, consistent patient interactions across every care setting
• Empathy — building the trust and perspective-taking that defines patient-centered care
• Conversation Curve™ for Navigating Conflict — a practical model for bringing difficult conversations to positive resolution
• Service Recovery and Mastering Bedside Shift Report — high-impact skills for the moments that most directly shape patient loyalty and safety
• Discharge Phone Calls — equipping teams with the Cares Connect methodology for structured, compassionate, and clinically meaningful post-discharge follow-up

Patient Experience & CAHPS Performance

HCAHPS and CAHPS performance reflects the culture and behaviors of every team member — not just those in direct patient contact roles. This pillar equips leaders and teams with the domain-specific knowledge and practical strategies to move from data to action. Courses include:

Communication & Relationship Skills

Communication is the single most influential driver of patient experience — and one of the most consistent gaps between intention and execution. This pillar delivers structured, behavior-based communication frameworks grounded in the Foundation’s proprietary CARES™ and Conversation Curve™ methodologies. Courses include:

Care Transitions & Safety

Post-discharge transitions are among the highest-risk moments in the care continuum. This pillar addresses the communication and follow-up practices that reduce readmissions, identify risk early, and reinforce patients’ confidence that their care doesn’t end at the hospital door. Current courses include:

Flexible Access Designed for How Healthcare Teams Actually Work

HX Academy is built to integrate seamlessly into the training and development infrastructure that healthcare organizations already have in place. Courses can be purchased individually or by topic for targeted development. The All-Access Pass provides organization-wide access to the full and growing library. For health systems seeking a more comprehensive solution, enterprise licensing and custom white-label options are available.

Beyond individual and team development, HX Academy is designed to augment and extend existing PX programs — providing just-in-time resources that reinforce coaching conversations, enrich onboarding, and give frontline leaders the tools they need to sustain improvement between consulting engagements. New courses are added to the library on a regular basis, and custom video lessons can be developed on request for organizations with specialized training needs.

HX Academy is already trusted by healthcare organizations and associations across the United States, including Lee Health, MyMichigan Health, Mission Health, the Maryland Healthcare Education Institute (MHEI), and the Oklahoma Association of Healthcare.

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. Learn more at healthcareexperience.org.