UT Southwestern Patient Experience Week

The Challenge

UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center sees more than 2,000 patients a day at its Dallas location alone, with another 1,000 to 1,600 patients daily across two regional sites. Patient Experience Week is the center’s annual effort to recognize both the patients going through treatment and the staff caring for them.

The program needed to create moments of genuine comfort and appreciation across four metroplex locations between January and April 2025. For patients in active cancer treatment, a thoughtful gesture during a clinic visit can shift the entire tone of a difficult day. UT Southwestern wanted branded merch that felt personal and useful rather than generic, and a format that brought warmth into clinical spaces through pop-up events, giveaways and visits from therapy dog Tia.

The Solution

The merch agency worked with UT Southwestern to select three products that fit the program’s tone: a MiiR vacuum-insulated camp cup, a Revello soft-bound journal and a cartoon dog stress reliever. Each item was chosen to bring a small measure of comfort to patients during treatment visits. The $10,974 budget covered all three products, distribution and on-site event support across four Simmons Cancer Center facilities.

Goods were drop-shipped directly to each location. During Patient Experience Week, staff hosted pop-up events and giveaways where patients received the items alongside personal conversations and time with Tia, the center’s therapy dog. The format kept things simple and human – staff handed items directly to patients, creating brief but genuine points of connection during the treatment day.

Comfort-First Selection

An insulated camp cup, a journal and a stress reliever. Each product was chosen for what it could do for a patient sitting in a treatment chair: warmth, expression, relief.

Four-Site Distribution

Products shipped directly to four Simmons Cancer Center locations across Dallas-Fort Worth, so every facility could run its own Patient Experience Week events without logistical gaps.

Human Delivery

Staff handed items to patients during pop-up events alongside therapy dog Tia. The giveaway format created face-to-face moments between caregivers and the patients they serve daily.

Results

The program reached more than 1,100 cancer patients across four Simmons Cancer Center locations at roughly $10 per person. Staff and patients responded positively, and the Director of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology noted that the program re-energized staff while elevating the week’s overall impact on patients.

Patient Experience Week has become an anticipated annual event at the cancer center, and the merch is central to how it works. The items give staff a reason to stop at a patient’s chair, start a conversation and express appreciation face to face. For patients in the middle of treatment, that interaction carries weight. UT Southwestern has continued its partnership with the merch agency and plans to build on the program in future years.

“Patient Experience Week has become an anticipated annual event for our Cancer Center staff and patients. Being able to provide quality tokens of appreciation for everyone elevates the week’s campaign and re-energizes the staff who are providing the highest level of care to our patients.”

Alexandra Huffman, Director of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology, UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center