Kathy Hutchens

Director

Kathy Hutchens is vice president of marketing and patient engagement for Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center, the multispecialty medical group affiliated with Sharp HealthCare. Sharp Rees-Stealy is San Diego’s healthcare leader with 22 locations, 550 physicians, and 2,000 employees. She is responsible for strategic marketing and communications and the patient contact center, whose staff members provide positively memorable experiences through more than 2 million encounters annually.

Since joining Sharp in 1994, she has had the opportunity to be part of numerous innovations. Ms. Hutchens was one of the original leaders who laid the groundwork for The Sharp Experience, an exciting journey to improve the organization’s culture and transform the healthcare experience. Later she worked on the development of the “mySharp” patient portal.

In 2005, Ms. Hutchens took on responsibility for the patient contact center and has since led the department through a transformational redesign. In 2012, she helped develop the Connected to Care® program staffed by nurses who provide immediate medical advice by phone.

Ms. Hutchens is passionate about continuously improving the healthcare experience for patients and their families, as well as the doctors and team members who provide their care. She has given numerous presentations throughout the country on customer experience-related topics.

Ms. Hutchens has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Honors College at Ball State University. She participates on the Council of Accountable Physician Practices and the AMGA marketing council. A longtime member of the North San Diego Business Chamber, she serve as advisor to the Emerging Leaders Council and serves on the Women’s Week advisory council.