Sara Lehman Laskey, MD

Dr. Sara Laskey, MD, was named the first Chief Patient Experience Officer at Cleveland’s MetroHealth System in late 2013. In this position, Dr. Laskey is responsible for the leadership, design, and implementation of initiatives that fulfill the patient-centered mission and vision of MetroHealth. She collaborates with MetroHealth executives, medical staff, and department directors to develop training programs and communications that are transforming the culture of MetroHealth.

In the past year, Dr. Laskey and her team developed and implemented Pathways to Patient Experience, an innovative three-hour training for every MetroHealth employee. She has launched a recognition program, “Star IQ Genius,” to honor those employees whose behavior is exemplary of patient-centered care as well as implementing “Leadership Rounding” for administrative and clinical leaders throughout the organization. Currently, she is developing an intensive service and leadership program for all managers and front-line employees at MetroHealth, which she expects to implement in 2014-2015.

In addition to her Patient Experience responsibilities, Dr. Laskey is also an attending physician in the Emergency Department at MetroHealth and previously was the Director of Medical Operations for the department, a position she held from 2011 through 2013. She is an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. She was an active flight physician with Metro Life Flight for five years.

Dr. Laskey was Chair of the Leadership and Development Committee and Director of the Leadership Academy of the Ohio Chapter of American College of Emergency Physicians from 2012-2014. She currently serves on the Northern Ohio Trauma System (NOTS) Quality Committee; and the American College of Emergency Physicians National Council.  In addition, she was selected to serve on the CEO Search Committee for the MetroHealth Medical Center in 2012 and 2013. It is this committee that selected MetroHealth’s current leader, Dr. Akram Boutros.

Dr. Laskey’s work has been published in multiple the peer-reviewed journals including Genetic Medicine and Academic Emergency Medicine, as well as in numerous textbooks and professional newsletters. She’s presented abstracts at national symposia.

Prior to becoming a medical doctor, Laskey was a clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

About MetroHealth: The MetroHealth System, with more than 400 primary care and specialty care physicians, is one of the most comprehensive healthcare providers—and the only level one trauma center—in Northeast Ohio. As a public healthcare system, MetroHealth provides services to any resident of Cuyahoga County regardless of ability to pay. MetroHealth also is a center for medical research and education, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. All staff physicians hold faculty appointments with Case Western Reserve.