Voices of U of U Health

Forward Together: Building Our Patient Stewardship and Navigation Hub

Sep 17, 2025

By Erica Bisson, MD, MPH and Tracey Nixon, MSN, RN

This is the second blog in a multi-part series discussing how University of Utah Health is taking steps to become an integrated academic health system achieving unsurpassed societal impact. The series highlights six shared goals guiding our collective vision for 2030.

At University of Utah Health, we are committed to making it easier for every patient to access the care they need—when they need it and where they need it. Increasing patient access is a cornerstone of our strategic vision for 2030. One of the ways we are bringing that vision to life is through the design of the Patient Stewardship and Navigation Hub.

This hub is more than a new structure—it’s a reimagining of how we connect patients, families, and providers across our health system. It’s about creating timely, seamless, and compassionate care experiences at every step.

Building on What Already Works

We are fortunate to have a strong foundation in place. Our dedicated teams do an incredible job answering calls, triaging needs, and connecting people to the right services. This work is essential, and our exceptional teams remain at the heart of our new approach.

The Patient Stewardship and Navigation Hub integrates new capabilities and resources. Every function works together to improve care coordination across U of U Health. That way, patients are not only guided but also supported throughout their journey.

Why We Need to Evolve

The demand for care across our system is growing rapidly. Increasing patient referrals and acute transfer requests mean that even with our strong teams, we cannot always meet the needs of every patient immediately. At times, this creates backlogs and delays in access.

Our patients deserve better. They deserve confidence that, no matter how complex their situation, there is always a place for them in our system—or with one of our trusted partners. To meet this challenge, we need to grow and evolve our approach.

What We’re Building

The Patient Stewardship and Navigation Hub is designed to be a centralized, always-on access point that provides:

24/7 support for transfers, referrals, consults, and scheduling
Expanded care coordination across all hospitals, clinics, and partners
Integrated technology systems that connect Epic, scheduling, and communication tools for seamless data flow
Personalized stewardship roles focused on guiding patients, families, and providers through every stage of care

This is about more than logistics. It’s about making access easy, reliable, and human-centered—so no one feels lost in our system.

U of U Health Transformation - Access, Quality, Experience — Click image to view larger.

How We’re Building It

This is not being designed in a vacuum. Cross-functional teams of physicians, nurses, administrators, IT leaders, and patient experience experts are working together to shape the hub. Weekly design workgroups, a stakeholder group, and project sponsors are all contributing their expertise to ensure the model is both visionary and grounded in operational realities.

We are building new capacities and functions to support this evolution:

Workflow redesign to ensure smooth transitions between services
Operational planning to guarantee sustainability and scalability
Technology integration to connect patients, providers, and systems seamlessly

The result will be a scalable framework that grows with our community, supports providers, and delivers a better experience for every patient.

Upholding Our Promise

The Patient Stewardship and Navigation Hub is more than an initiative—it’s a promise. A promise that we will steward every patient to the right place, at the right time, for the right care. Whether that means a direct appointment within our system or a transfer to a trusted partner, we will ensure no patient is left without a pathway forward.

This is how we deliver on our vision of expanding access and being the leading health care system in the Mountain West. And this is how we move forward together, making it easier for every patient, every provider, every time.

We Want to Hear from You

How do you see stewardship changing the patient experience? Do you have an idea for making access easier for patients? Please share your thoughts at Together@hsc.utah.edu.

Other Blogs In This Series

Forward Together: Collective Goal Setting

Erica Bisson, MD, MPH

Erica Bisson is system chief medical officer for University of Utah Health and executive medical officer for the University of Utah Medical Group. Bisson’s leadership is characterized by a patient-centered approach, data-driven mindset, and commitment to fostering a culture of honesty, integrity, and collaboration. She is a professor of neurosurgery and adjunct professor of orthopedics at the University of Utah. Her clinical career encompasses treating patients with the breadth of spinal disease, focusing on craniocervical pathologies. Nationally, Bisson led a multi-center research consortium focused on the evaluation of outcomes following spine surgery. She is recognized as a national leader in defining quality spine care. Bisson received an MD at Tufts University School of Medicine and completed neurosurgical training at the University of Vermont. She completed a fellowship in complex spinal disorders and received an MPH at the University of Utah.

Tracey Nixon, MSN, RN

Tracey Nixon is the chief nursing officer for University of Utah Health, where she leads with a deep commitment to excellence in nursing practice and patient care. Nixon is passionate about empowering nursing teams through shared governance, elevating the voice of nursing across the health system, and ensuring patients receive highly reliable, compassionate care. She is a critical care nurse by background, and in previous leadership roles, she led nursing teams in capacity management, cardiovascular services, and critical care. Nixon established the capacity management team at University of Utah Hospital and implemented innovative processes and metrics to improve patient throughput and operational efficiency. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Nixon received a BSN and MSN in nursing from the University of Utah.

University of Utah Health