Mo-ments of Experience

Culture isn't built in a strategy deck. It's built in the moments leaders create every single day.

Geoffrey sits down with Tria Deibert of Hackensack Meridian Health to explore what happens when organizations stop treating people investments as "nice-to-haves" and start connecting engagement, leadership, recognition, and patient experience to real outcomes. Tria shares how HMH uses data to make the case for culture, why engagement is built leader by leader and team by team, and how their "Leading With Heart" approach gives leaders practical behaviors that strengthen the employee experience.

From recognition that makes invisible moments visible to the connection between engaged teams and extraordinary patient care, this conversation is a powerful reminder that data may open the door, but humanity is what moves people through it.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Tria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/triadeibert/

Connect with Geoffrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreypsmith/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Meaningful, consistent attention drives stronger employee engagement.
• Culture is built leader by leader, team by team.
• Data strengthens the business case for people investments.
• Recognition turns everyday moments into powerful culture builders.
• Employee experience directly shapes the patient experience.

Sometimes the smallest moments carry the greatest weight.

Geoffrey sits down with nurse, clinician experience innovator, and Joy Metrics Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer Andrea Coyle to explore what happens when purpose, burnout, hope, and human connection collide.

Andrea shares how real-time workforce insights can help healthcare leaders recognize burnout before it becomes a resignation, why employee experience and patient experience belong in the same conversation, and how the right metrics can help leaders take meaningful action. But the conversation goes far beyond data. ❤️

Through Andrea's powerful story of family loss, adversity, and her son's realization that sometimes leaders need their teams more than their teams need them, Geoffrey and Andrea uncover one of leadership's most human truths: when your own hope runs low, sometimes you have to borrow it from the people around you. This is a conversation about perseverance, purpose, presence, and creating workplaces where people feel seen, supported, and inspired.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-coyle-dnp-mha-ne-bc-83ba1736/

Learn more at https://www.joymetrics.com/

Connect with Geoffrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreypsmith/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Burnout requires real-time action, not annual measurement.
• Small human moments can create lasting impact.
• Employee experience directly shapes patient experience.
• Strong teams give people hope during adversity.
• People-first leadership turns workforce data into meaningful action.

The smallest moments in healthcare are often the ones people remember forever.

Geoffrey sits down with healthcare innovator and former MRI technologist Katherine Stokes to explore how comfort, creativity, and human connection can transform the experience of both patients and caregivers.

Katherine shares how her frontline experience inspired Spongies Comfort, why the people closest to healthcare's problems often have the best ideas for solving them, and how The Heart of Healthcare Innovation Award is giving everyday innovators the belief and financial support to bring those ideas forward. ❤️

From easing anxiety during an MRI to recognizing the employee who quietly changes a patient's day, Geoffrey and Katherine remind people-first leaders that meaningful innovation does not always begin with a massive breakthrough. Sometimes, it begins by noticing the gap, listening to the person experiencing it, and caring enough to fill it.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinespongiescomfort/

Learn more about Spongies: https://www.spongiescomfort.com/

Learn more about The Heart of Healthcare Innovation Award: https://www.spongiescomfort.com/the-heart-of-healthcare-innovation-award

Connect with Geoffrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreypsmith/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Small moments can create lifelong healthcare experiences.
• Frontline employees often hold healthcare's best solutions.
• Patient comfort also makes caregivers' jobs easier.
• Feeling heard unlocks creativity, trust, and innovation.
• Great healthcare innovation can start with one simple idea.

The best solutions in healthcare rarely begin in a boardroom. They begin with the people living the work every day.

Geoffrey sits down with nurse, author, speaker, and healthcare executive Toni Land to explore why execution does not live in the plan, it lives in the day. Toni shares how co-design creates ownership, turns best practices into best fits, and gives frontline teams the confidence to shape meaningful change.

From nurse retention and real-time engagement to the unforgettable impact of a simple cup of apple juice, Geoffrey and Toni reveal why small, consistent behaviors can transform culture, strengthen teams, and create experiences patients and families remember.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Toni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toniland/

Learn more about Landing Exceptional Experiences: https://www.landingexceptionalexperiences.com/

Get Toni's book "The Conversation: Why Good Ideas Don't Survive the Day": https://www.amazon.com/Conversation-Good-Ideas-Dont-Survive/dp/B0GQZQ9GP1

Connect with Geoffrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreypsmith/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Frontline teams are often closest to the solution.
• Co-design transforms resistance into ownership and action.
• Best practices succeed when adapted to real work.
• Small, consistent behaviors outperform inconsistent large initiatives.
• Better employee experiences create better patient experiences.

Some companions don't just walk beside us, they help carry us through the moments we think might break us. 🐾

Geoffrey is celebrating the Super 16 birthday of Mo, his beloved beagle and the namesake of the show. Geoff shares the story behind Mo's name, his larger-than-life personality, his remarkable health journey, and the small moments that revealed just how powerful presence, loyalty, and unconditional love can be.

From protecting the family to staying by Geoff's wife through grief, cancer, and unimaginable loss, Mo's story is a moving reminder that connection doesn't always need words. Sometimes hope arrives on four paws, looks you in the eyes, and refuses to leave your side.

Additional Resources:

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Presence can bring hope when words cannot.
• Love often shows up in small moments.
• Dogs teach loyalty, protection, and emotional awareness.
• Grief requires connection, not perfect answers.
• Mo's story is a lesson in unconditional love.

Fear changes what we hear, how we lead, and what people need from us most.

Geoffrey sits down with Mindy Spigel, nurse, author, researcher, and employee and patient experience expert, to explore what happens when fear shows up in healthcare and how compassion can change the moment. Mindy shares the powerful "snake on my head" metaphor from her book "There's a Snake on My Head!", revealing why patients, families, and healthcare teams often cannot process information when anxiety takes over. 🐍

Together, Geoffrey and Mindy unpack the deep connection between patient experience and employee experience, the importance of involving frontline teams in solving real problems, and why people need to feel informed, safe, and comfortable before they can truly engage. From organizational change to personal caregiving stories, this conversation is a reminder that healthcare is not just patient experience or employee experience. It is human experience.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Mindy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindyspigel

Learn more about Mindy's work: https://mindyspigel.com

Get Mindy's book, "There's a Snake on my Heads!": https://mindyspigel.com/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92L1MKN

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Fear changes how people hear information.
• Patient experience starts with employee experience.
• Frontline teams hold powerful solutions.
• People need safety before engagement.
• Uncertainty can become an empowering blank canvas.

Valerie Choniuk has spent her career across the healthcare continuum, from emergency rooms and acute care hospitals to nursing homes and large medical groups. As a customer experience executive, she has learned that patient experience is not something you layer on top of clinical care. It is the care. In this conversation with Geoffrey, Valerie shares how she came to that realization through years of working at the intersection of patient engagement, employee experience, and clinical operations, and why organizations that treat experience as an add-on will always fall short.

Some of the most powerful moments in this episode come from Valerie's time in long-term care, where she witnessed firsthand how behavior is a signal, not a problem. She tells the story of an angry resident whose outbursts masked deep grief and a total loss of identity, and staff whose apparent indifference was really a system that never gave them space to see beyond that behavior. Valerie makes the case that if we do not intentionally design for dignity, we will unintentionally design against it, and that lesson applies far beyond healthcare.

Additional Resources: Connect with Valerie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriechoniuk/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

Key Takeaways:

• Experience is the core of care, not a layer added on top of clinical delivery
• Behavior is a signal — from patients and staff alike — not a problem to be managed
• You cannot motivate anyone; motivation is intrinsic, but you can inspire people
• The number one predictor of team performance is whether team members feel their colleagues have their back
• Designing for dignity must be intentional, or organizations will unintentionally design against it

Darlene Cunha is a nurse, transformational healthcare executive, author, and caregiver who has spent her career reconnecting healthcare leaders with their healing purpose through Caritas-driven leadership. In this conversation with Geoffrey Smith, Darlene shares how her philosophy of love expressed through action, care expressed through attention, and dignity expressed in everyday moments has shaped the way she leads teams and transforms patient experiences across health systems. Darlene walks through real examples of how leader presence on the floor, relational engagement practices like starting meetings with three good things, and cross-departmental collaboration drove measurable improvements in employee engagement, patient satisfaction scores, and financial outcomes at a two-hospital system in Rhode Island. She also reflects on the formative influence of a nurse named Mary Wakeling, who showed her at age 12 that one moment of authentic presence can change a life forever.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Darlene Cunha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darlenecunha/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Leader presence on the floor, not programs or added dollars, is what shifts employee engagement and unit culture in healthcare settings.
• Starting team interactions with relational questions like "tell me three good things" builds trust and connection that drives performance.
• Employee engagement should be measured as a living, dynamic process that changes shift to shift, not as a once-a-year survey event.
• Cross-departmental collaboration between nursing, food service, social work, and psychiatry creates the extraordinary patient experiences that improve outcomes.
• One moment of authentic presence can shape a person's entire career path, as Darlene experienced with nurse Mary Wakeling at age 12.

In this episode of Mo-Ments of Experience, Geoffrey Smith sits down with healthcare innovator and relationship strategist Michael Stamatinos to explore what it really takes to move meaningful healthcare innovation forward. Michael shares his mission of facilitating access at scale, whether that means access to care, education, housing, or opportunity, and explains why building relationship equity is one of the most overlooked drivers of innovation in healthcare today.

Drawing from his experience supporting purposeful startups, collaborating with health systems, and working directly with patients and clinicians, Michael discusses the importance of understanding the realities of care delivery before trying to solve problems from the outside. He explains why many healthcare innovations fail, not because the ideas are bad, but because founders have not spent enough time inside the environments they hope to improve. The conversation also dives into the disconnect that can exist between clinical teams and administration, the importance of involving frontline caregivers in decision-making, and why trust must be built before transformation can happen.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstamo/

View Michael's website: https://www.michaelstamo.com/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com

Key Takeaways:

• Relationship equity is essential for driving innovation and gaining support within complex healthcare systems
• Healthcare startups must spend time directly inside care environments before attempting to solve operational problems
• The most successful healthcare innovations solve urgent "bleeding neck" problems that leaders cannot afford to ignore
• Frontline caregivers must be included in decision-making processes or trust and adoption will suffer
• Sustainable innovation happens through long-term consistency, not short-term start-stop efforts

In this episode, Anita Barbero, founder of Renew Your Health, joins Geoffrey Smith to discuss what it really takes to bring well-being into workplace culture when budgets are limited, time is scarce, and leaders need proof before they commit. Drawing on her experience introducing mindfulness and mental well-being practices within ESPN and Disney, Anita explains how meaningful change did not begin with sweeping executive mandates, but with finding a few key believers, building relationships face to face, and giving new ideas the time and space to grow.

The conversation focuses heavily on healthcare, where Geoffrey shares the reality that many wellness leaders are working alone with little to no budget. Anita explains why large organizational overhauls are unrealistic in those environments and instead makes the case for micro moments, small and intentional practices that can fit into even the busiest caregiver workflows. She reflects on observing employees closely before designing solutions, meeting organizations exactly where they are, and helping leaders understand that culture change has to begin in manageable increments.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Anita Barbero https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-barbero/https://www.anitabarbero.com/

Visit Mo-Ments of Experience's website: www.mo-mentsofexperience.com

Subscribe to Mo-Ments of Experience on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@mo-mentsofexperience?si=IZAB036xX1mmrn2C\\

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/

Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

Key Takeaways:

• Finding believers within your organization who champion well-being is more powerful than any top-down mandate
• Micro moments, even 30 seconds of intentional presence, can create meaningful culture change in the most demanding environments
• Mindfulness cultivates compassion, which extends naturally from the individual into teams and across organizations
• Patient experience and employee experience are inseparable; you cannot care for patients without first caring for caregivers
• Start small, measure what matters, and give well-being initiatives the time and space to grow rather than trying to transform an entire organization at once