Colleen Sweeney

Colleen Sweeney is the founder of Sweeney Healthcare Enterprises, and she’s on a mission to transform healthcare.

Colleen conceived and conducted the Patient Empathy ProjectSM, a three year research study. During this research, she discovered that 96% of all patients have serious fears about health care, coining the term ClinicaphobiaSM to describe the phenomenon. Colleen put this finding to use, developing the Patient Experience PyramidSM as a tool for healthcare teams to uncoverand respond to patient fears. She’s identified the Top 11 Patient Fears and collected astonishing artwork from the Patient Empathy Postcard ProjectSM.

Colleen’s most recent position was as Director of Ambassador and Customer Services at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, IN. During her tenure, Memorial consistently ranked in the top deciles of performance in both Press Ganey and HCAHPS measures of the patient experience. Her insights and initiatives were integral to the organization’s success. Colleen also served as the Director of Innovation at Memorial’s School of Innovation, which realized a 3:1 return on investment by utilizing the collective genius of its employees.

A member of the National Speakers Association and a Certified Facilitator with the Tom Peters Company, Colleen holds degrees in nursing and business, and a master’s certificate in project management. Colleen attributes much of her success to an earlier career in improvisational comedy, which taught her to build enthusiasm, think differently about the work she does and help audiences realize the power of possibility which exists within them.