Chief Quality Officer Jennifer Bayersdorfer, middle, accepts the HX26 High Reliability Organization Foundation Award on behalf of Providence for its strong safety culture and commitment to top-quality patient care. [Photo courtesy of Press Ganey]
RENTON, Wash. [Feb. 4, 2026] — Press Ganey, the leading provider of experience measurement, data analytics and AI-powered insights to health systems and health plans, today announced that Providence has been named the recipient of the HX26 High Reliability Organization (HRO) Foundation Award.
Now in its third year, the HRO Foundation Award honors health care organizations that have demonstrated significant, system-level improvements in patient safety outcomes while fostering a strong culture of trust, learning and reliability.
“Providence is honored to receive the High Reliability Organization Foundation Award, a testament to our caregivers’ unwavering commitment to providing exceptional, Mission-driven care across the communities we serve,” said Erik Wexler, Providence president and CEO. “We are grateful to Press Ganey for this recognition, which reflects our steadfast dedication to our strategic direction to be the best place to give and receive care.”
Providence earned this award through strong safety culture indicators and trends in event reporting. These outcomes reflect years of focused effort to embed Caring Reliably — Providence’s approach to high reliability and patient safety — into daily clinical and operational practice.
Caring Reliably shapes how Providence manages safety, quality and the patient experience. Grounded in high reliability principles such as teamwork, clear communication, mindfulness and a questioning attitude, the approach establishes consistent expectations for how caregivers lead, communicate, escalate concerns and learn from harm events.
“Safety is the foundation of the human experience in health care, and Providence has treated it that way,” said Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Press Ganey. “Under the leadership of CEO Erik Wexler, safety is a daily expectation, reinforced through leadership behaviors, caregiver voice and disciplined learning. When people feel safe to speak up, risks surface earlier and patients receive safer care. Providence has deliberately created the conditions for that culture to take hold, and the results are clear.”
Across hospitals, clinics and care settings, this shared way of working has led to collaborative environments where caregivers feel confident speaking up and reporting safety concerns. Event reporting trends reflect a learning culture in which transparency is encouraged and insights are used to strengthen systems rather than assign blame.
Technology supports this work by helping caregivers and leaders surface concerns, track patterns and close the loop on improvement. Providence’s use of Press Ganey’s Human Experience Platform, including event reporting, patient experience, workforce engagement and quality insights, helps connect safety data to daily practice, reinforcing reliability across teams and disciplines.
“We developed Caring Reliably as a caregiver-focused method to reach the goal of zero preventable harm,” said Jennifer Bayersdorfer, chief quality officer, Providence. “Our caregivers are fully invested in this work to provide the best possible care to our patients and our communities.”
About Press Ganey
Press Ganey is a leading global provider of experience technology, data analytics, and AI-powered insights that help companies better understand and serve their customers, employees, and stakeholders. Press Ganey powers the Human Experience (HX) Platform – a comprehensive experience and research technology platform that brings together CX (Customer Experience), Employee Experience (EX), Patient Experience (PX) and Market Research. It serves more than 43,000 clients globally across healthcare, financial services, hospitality, market research, professional services, retail, technology, and other end markets. Press Ganey is recognized by Gartner® as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant™ for Voice of the Customer (VoC) Platforms.
About Providence
Providence is a national, not-for-profit Catholic health system comprising a diverse family of organizations and driven by a belief that health is a human right. With 51 hospitals, more than 1,000 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 122,000 caregivers serving communities across Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, with system offices in Renton, Wash., and Irvine, Calif. Learn about our vision of health for a better world at Providence.org.
