HPHA welcomes new Patient Experience Specialist
August 11, 2026
Being
valued. Being heard. That’s what Jodi Helps wants patients to know when they –
or their loved ones – receive care at the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance
(HPHA).
She
recently joined the organization as the Patient Experience Specialist.
“I always aim to engage with compassion and understanding,
meeting patients where they’re at and helping them feel confident that their
concerns and questions will be addressed,” she said.
Helps is a
healthcare veteran who’s worked in medium and large hospitals where she’s been
involved with navigating patients’ experiences. She’s also worked
on the front line with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
HPHA’s Patient and Caregiver Partner program’s strong reputation is one reason
Helps pursued this opportunity. In addition, she missed helping people navigate
and understand the hospital system, as well as addressing their questions and
helping resolve their concerns related to care.
“I was impressed with the Patient Experience initiatives
that were already underway at the HPHA and the way they seek feedback from
patients, families and caregivers,” she said. “The Patient Partner program at
HPHA is very robust and I get a very strong sense of community and pride at all
four HPHA sites and I love that.”
The Patient Experience role ensures patients, families and
caregivers have a formal opportunity to discuss their HPHA experiences without
judgement or fear and have their concerns addressed in a timely manner.
Feedback can be given in person, by phone or email or through Patient Experience
surveys. Feedback is taken, and working with the Quality and Patient Safety
Team and Patient and Caregiver Partners,
trends or themes are identified to continuously improve care.
“Success to me, through the Patient Experience lens, is when
our community members, individually and collectively, feel confident and happy
with the care they have received, or will receive if they need it at the HPHA,”
Helps said. “On a personal level, I feel that success is when each individual
leaves my engagement with them feeling heard, valued and understood.”