Caitlin Whyte (Host): Gratitude has the power to connect people, inspire generosity, and shape the future of our care. In this episode, we're joined by Emily Sullivan, Vice President of Operations at the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, to explore the origins of the Grateful Patient Program and why gratitude plays such a vital role in healthcare philanthropy.

Emily shares how the program was built, why grateful patients are at the heart of meaningful giving, and how expressions of thanks help strengthen relationships, fuel generosity, and ultimately support the care we provide across our communities. This is Emily Sullivan in her own words.

Emily Sullivan: My name is Emily Sullivan, and I'm the Vice President of Operations for the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation. I had a very interesting career trajectory, I think. So, I was a music industry and recording technology major at York College of Pennsylvania. Very quickly started to realize I had an affinity for the business side of things, ended up declaring a business minor. And that kind of defined my career path moving forward. So, I took a couple sales roles right out of college. And we always joke that no one sets out into the world with the intention of working in development.

So, it was very much happenstance. I had moved out of the area for a while. I lived in the DC area for a few years, really wanted to come home. And I knew that, at the time, Pinnacle Health was very much a household name. So when I was job searching to get back to the area, I happened to look for job postings on Pinnacle Health's website and found the position of annual giving officer. So, I applied, ended up interviewing, accepting the role, and the rest is history. I've been here for just over 10 years at this point. I've held a number of titles over the course of the past 10 years. One of which was Manager of the Grateful Patient Program. So, it's been a really fun ride. I always say that no two workdays are the same. And I just feel incredibly grateful to be part of this team and getting to do this work.

So when I started, our Grateful Patient Program was very passive. It was basically a link on a website where you could fill out a grateful patient web form. It was very simple. And we also had a direct mail component, so we were sending out weekly letters that encouraged patients to show gratitude, thank their caregivers. So, we didn't see a ton of success with it. We felt the need to revamp the program to make it a bit more active, a bit more proactive rather.

So in 2018, we started working with a firm called the Global Group. And their bread and butter is building these really successful Grateful Patient Programs. So, the crux of the work that they do is having foundation staff partner with clinical staff to basically make introductions and referrals where appropriate and help identify gratitude in their patients. So, it's really a very collaborative effort to reach those patients who are feeling that over-the-moon gratitude, who really want to be vocal about the experience that they had with UPMC in Central PA, connect them with the foundation. And we get to learn about their experience. We get to know them as people and get to deepen those relationships.

So, 2018 was when we really decided to double down and make our Grateful Patient Program a robust one. And I think the initial challenge was getting a sense of what was the perception of the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation within the system and was there that spirit of philanthropy and was there trust in the foundation. And we had to do a lot of work to educate UPMC Central PA staff about what the foundation does, the work that we do, why we exist, and really do that groundwork to better establish ourselves, grow trust with clinical staff so that they felt comfortable introducing us to their patients. So, that was probably the greatest hurdle that we faced initially.

When we have the opportunity to meet with grateful patients and hear their stories and get to know them and to develop these relationships, oftentimes they do become supporters of the foundation. They want to show their gratitude for the care that they've received, for the providers who have cared for them by giving back to support the work of the foundation. So, that has been a really significant part of growing the Grateful Patient Program, is that philanthropic support that can come from that grateful patient relationship.

I think that our friend, Ted Min Lee, is the one that is most top of mind. And the way he phrases it is that he walked in as a patient and now he walks through the doors of UPMC Lititz to help other patients. And he started his grateful patient journey many years ago. And it evolved to the point where he became involved with the UPMC Lititz Board of Directors. He's now part of the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation Board of Directors. And because of the patient experience he had, he really has deep roots throughout the entire system, which has been a really special thing. He is helping to advance our mission just across the board, which is incredible. We've been very grateful to have built that relationship with him.

So, there was a patient who I was introduced to by Dr. Kit Lu. And this was in the very, very early days of the newly revamped Grateful Patient Program. And so, she was an oncology patient. We met for coffee and just had a lovely conversation, and she would just had this effusive gratitude for the care that Dr. Lu provided her. And she said many times throughout that conversation that she felt so strongly about how grateful she was that she was in the financial position to be able to pay for her care. She never struggled financially to pay for her oncology treatments. So, she turned around and ended up making a significant contribution to the Alexander Memorial Fund, which provides support for oncology patients in need. And she continued to do so annually up until the time of her passing. And that's just another fantastic example of the deep connections that we're able to form with patients through the Grateful Patient Program.

She was a really, really special woman and she passed away just a few years ago. But she was one of my very first, like we met at Panera. It was a pretty casual setting, and she was just so grateful for Dr. Lu. She had this concern for others who didn't have as easy of a time being able to afford their treatment. And she just wanted to do even in like what she considered what she was doing to be like a small thing to support others who couldn't afford their care. But it was significant. You know, what she was giving back was significant, and it was a very special interaction with her.

I think all of these grateful patient stories, first and foremost, it just makes me incredibly proud to be part of the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, be part of UPMC and Central PA to get to work alongside these providers, these clinicians who are delivering this life-changing, life-saving care every single day to the point that people want to shout from the rooftops how thankful they are for them. It is just really moving. And these are people who their lives were completely transformed by some of these interactions. And then, getting to turn around and share these stories and these words of gratitude, it's special and it's a strong source of motivation for me. So, it's really very meaningful.

A potential grateful patient can get in touch with us and share their grateful patient story, their grateful patient experience in a number of ways. And really, it just depends on what is most comfortable for them. They can reach out to us directly in the foundation office. They can connect with their clinician who can then connect them directly to us. They can also fill out our online grateful patient web form. And it can be as simple or as detailed as they would like it to be. And it's just very basic contact information, they can share a few words of thanks, which we're happy to pass along to their caregiver that they want to recognize, or we can sit down and have a lengthy conversation. We can do a full on grateful patient testimonial with filming, the whole nine yards. It's really whatever is most comfortable to the patient that we're working with.

I think a lot of the providers that we work with kind of feel like, "Oh, you know, like, I'm just doing my job. This is just part of the gig." I don't think it's very often that it comes full circle for them to the extent that they're able to actually hear or see exactly how grateful someone is for their work and to be able to facilitate that moment of sharing that gratitude back to them, I think they just don't get to hear it often enough, and I think it's really special that we get to be a part of that. And I think that that is a strong motivator for them as well.

A lot of the times, we see those true moments of gratitude happen within the hospital environment, which makes a lot of sense. I think that's where a lot of those very intense healthcare moments tend to happen. That said, I think that there is a lot of gratitude that also happens in our outpatient facilities, even within primary care. You know, a lot of people have been with their primary care doctors for many, many years, and you do build those relationships. There is some longevity there. So, I would love to see what opportunity exists there, see how we can expand upon that and, yeah, see where we can take it in the future.

I think one thing that we don't talk about enough is the gratitude that we feel. The foundation for the patients that are willing to be open and vulnerable with us with their experiences, with their stories, because we're asking them to share these deeply personal moments with us. And they do. They do. They share these incredible stories, and they trust us to share that gratitude back in a way that is sensitive and appropriate and respectful of the experience that they've had. And I think that that shows so much trust. And I'm just incredibly grateful for all the patients who have put that trust in us. And I think that's just a very special thing that they've allowed us to do for them.

Caitlin Whyte (Host): Emily's story highlights how gratitude is more than a thank you. It is a powerful connection between patients, caregivers, and the communities they serve. Through the Grateful Patient Program, those expressions of thanks help inspire generosity, deepen relationships and support compassionate care across central Pennsylvania. We hope you'll like and share this episode and help other's discover these real stories told by the people behind the work. And if listening to this conversation inspires you to share your own gratitude for the care you or a loved one received throughout UPMC in Central Pennsylvania, you can do so online at upmcpinnaclefoundation.org by filling out our grateful patient form. Thank you for listening to In Their Words. Until next time, thank you for being part of the story.