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Speaking to the World

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Regina Holliday

Patient Rights Activist, Artist, Author, Speaker & Founder of the Walking Gallery

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Biography

“Regina was fantastic. Her story was powerful and she told it beautifully. I have not stopped thinking about her and it really left me with the importance of making the decision every day to make sure I help my patients understand their diagnosis and treatment plans before they leave the office.” - Great Lakes Health Connect

"Regina was absolutely fabulous!! We loved having her here and I’m still getting such positive comments and emails. Her presentation was so perfect. She did such a nice job with the painting. She will be hard to top next year, for sure. My CEO was very thrilled with the entire conference, but it was Regina who set the stage." - Augusta University Medical Center, Center for Patients and Families

Research shows that families and patients define their healthcare & quality and safety experience as emotional, while healthcare providers define the experience as biological health – Regina Holliday wants to close that gap to co-design outcomes and experiences and create humanism in healthcare. Holliday is a patient advocate and artist known for painting a series of murals depicting the need for clarity and transparency in medical records. This advocacy mission was inspired by her husband Frederick Allen Holliday II and his struggle to get appropriate care. Afflicted with kidney cancer, Fred suffered poor care coordination, a lack of access to data and a series of medical errors and, as a result, lost his battle. During Fred’s 11 weeks of continuous hospitalization in five facilities, Holliday learned that she would have to wait 21 days and would be charged 73 cents per page for Fred’s medical records. In addition to already expensive care, the many necessary pages would have cost hundreds of dollars. These institutional flaws spurred Holliday to try to improve care for her husband as well as all patients who are abused in this way. As a result, Fred’s death inspired Holliday to use painting as a catalyst for change. Read More >

With her passion for advocating for patients to receive timely access to their health care data, her artwork became part of the national healthcare debate. Reported on in the mainstream press, as well as reviewed by such journals as BMJ and APA, Holliday has earned a platform to push for legislation that would provide better care for patients. Continuing her advocacy through art, she also started The Walking Gallery movement, where more than 400 volunteer members don business suits or blazers painted with either their story, their loved one’s story, or their mission within healthcare. The jackets, which are painted by Holliday or one of the 45 other artist members in The Walking Gallery, help change public health policy. The members of Walking Gallery attend medical conferences with a powerful visual story painted on their backs. The paintings help to convey the fact that the people wearing them are living, breathing examples of patients impacted by health care decisions, as opposed to just a statistical number. Holliday’s jacket paintings depicting the patient story have been covered in The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace and USA Today. She also began live painting the content of medical conferences and events in 2010. To date she has painted over 320 canvases depicting the stories of providers working in HIT, pharma, medical organizations, and hospitals.

In addition, Holliday is published author. The Walking Wall: 73 Cents to the Walking Gallery, her first work, is devoted to the stories that comprise her Walking Gallery campaign and was published in Australia. Her latest book The Writing on the Wall (2015), a memoir, takes readers on an odyssey of abuse and empowerment. Holiday was honored at the Health 2.0 Annual Conference in 2016 with a Patient Activist Award. In both 2016 and 2017 she served as a judge for Women in Health IT Awards at HIMSS.

Backed by her own patient and caregiving experiences, Holliday travels the globe sharing global health policy perspectives, heralding her message of person-centered care and inclusion in healthcare decision making. She fearlessly stands before officials and practitioners sharing thoughtful dialog on the role patients and family play in patient outcomes. Holliday doesn’t share just words that guide people around person centered care, she shares visual images and can also paint on site at your venue, gifting you and your organization a painting and interpretation of your event and overall mission. Holliday holds a certificate in theological studies from United Lutheran Seminary and currently serves in the Evangelical Lutheran church in America as vicar in Pennsylvania. Read Less ^

Speaker Videos

The Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation

The Walking Gallery of Healthcare - Part 1

The Walking Galley of Healthcare - Part 2

The Walking Gallery - Medical Murals

WCDB Conference

We Can Do Better

Little Miss A Type

See Fewer Videos

Speech Topics

Perspective in Patient & Family Care

Using powerful visual imagery and masterful storytelling, Regina takes the attendees into the story of a life to help your audience identify viewpoints in care encounters and outlooks that may differ from the perspective of the patient and family. Through her personal patient experience as a caregiver and macro from a global perspective, Regina shows how patient and family partnerships create better person-centered care when we realize the importance of family presence. She explains the importance of considering the patient and family perspective in the care encounter, the effect of visual imagery on health literacy. Regina shows the power of using patient narratives for supporting a better understanding of care transitions and will bring them through that journey renewed and inspired to make a better health care system for all.

Patient Advocacy Through Art

In this presentation, speaker Regina Holliday shares her experience painting murals and artwork that depict the struggles and problems of current patient healthcare policies. She also discusses her advocacy movement “The Walking Gallery,” for which medical providers and advocates wear “patient story” paintings on the backs of business suits.

Use of Social Media in Patient Rights & Health Policy

Ever wondered how social media could affect your mission in medicine and patient-centered care? Artist and activist Regina Holliday will explore the power of social media in delivering a message in healthcare and public policy. Holliday will explain the natural next step of crowd-funding your health mission and will elaborate on art advocacy, art actions, and flash-mobbing to spread awareness.

Care for the Caregiver

After an accidental adverse event, a healthcare organization's first priority is the patient and his or her family. But caregivers involved in these incidents also experience psychological trauma and need the support of their peers. In this presentation, speaker Regina Holliday discusses the delicate issue of caring for caregivers after unintentional errors have harmed patients.

Testimonials

"We actually couldn’t be happier with the line-up of speakers we have had for this year’s Summit Series. Regina’s presentation was a big hit! In fact, she received the first standing ovation that any speaker has ever received at one of our events, and her post-conference feedback scores are the most positive any speaker has received."

- Great Lakes Health Connect

"Thank you for sharing your powerful story with our incoming class this morning! It was very moving and I truly thank you for joining us. The students continued to talk about it throughout the day."

- TCU/UNTHSC School of Medicine

"We had a great experience with Regina at our Advisory Board meeting and her presentation was so impactful. She has such a moving story of her journey and we appreciated having the opportunity to hear it."

- Remedi SeniorCare

"Thank you for sharing your story with our board, medical staff and executive leadership. Your message was a vivid call to each person, both professionally and personally, and you have changed the Community Health Network in a very positive way! 'What would Regina think?' is now a common question."

- Community Health Network

- Augusta University Medical Center, Center for Patients and Families

"Wow! Regina is an amazing person and wonderful speaker. We were so happy to have her speak for our cooperative of employers. Everyone felt motivated and determined to change the way health care is delivered. Among her presentation she also captured the smallest details and thoughts in her painting that everyone admired and asked about. I wish we could have her come speak every year."

- The Alliance

"Regina was amazing! So many people wanted to speak with her after her presentation. She touched hearts and minds and reminded our attendees of who is the most important: the patient."

- IQ Consortium

"Regina was phenomenal! Her story really hit our attendees’ hearts and they were extremely engaged. Thank you for your help to secure her as our keynote speaker."

- Senior Strategic Event Marketing Manager, Allscripts

"Regina was a delight to have in our city. She was very well received. I felt that her message of patient care, electronic records, patient engagement, and stronger healthcare systems was delivered very strongly and passionately."

- Saskatchewan Academic Health Sciences Network

"Regina was fantastic! She exceeded expectations—she did a really, really excellent job. It was the perfect way to start the day and the membership was really pleased with what she brought to the table. Thank you for your help in putting it together!"

- Client

"Regina is an amazing speaker. I had an opportunity to sit in and listen to her presentation and she is entertaining, bright, informative, memorable, and impactful—all of the things you look for in a speaker. She is a treasure."

- Rebecca Costa, Author of The Watchman’s Rattle

"Thank you again for your great presentation on Friday at the Peer Leaders forum in Toronto. I really loved your message, your emotional power and your enthusiasm and dedication to this topic. You made my top three list of presentations that I have ever heard, including those at TED Talks online. Great people make small things big, important, meaningful and wonderful."

- Powell River, BC

"It was such a pleasure to meet you and hear your keynote address at our Inaugural Kansas Health Foundation Symposium. Your remarks were engaging, enlightening and thought-provoking, and the audiences was completely captivated. We could not have chosen a better person provide firsthand knowledge about the reality and challenges of our healthcare system. The way you told your story through art was so moving and added a unique perspective to the presentation."

- President & CEO, Kansas Health Foundation

“The National Council for Drug Prescription Programs (NCPDP) would like to thank you for taking part in our recent Annual Conference. Your keynote presentation at our Awards and Recognitions Luncheon was one of the highest rated sessions of our conference. You were able to touch the hearts of our audience and they loved it. Your journey and the tenaciousness with which you pursue outcomes will stay with our group for years to come. It was an honor having you join us to tell your story for this year’s Annual Conference. Keep up the great work!”

- National Council for Drug Prescription Programs (NCPDP)