Elmhurst Hospital has once again been awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International. There are 176 organizations worldwide that have achieved Planetree Certification at Bronze, Silver or Gold levels. Elmhurst Hospital is one of only 97 healthcare organizations worldwide, 22 in the United States and the only one in Illinois, to earn Gold Certification.
Gold Certification represents the highest level of achievement in person-centered care, which prioritizes the active participation of patients and their families throughout the healthcare process with an emphasis on partnership, compassion, transparency, inclusion and quality.
“At Elmhurst Hospital, we live the Planetree principles each day by making the healthcare experience for patients, families and staff safe, seamless and personal – every person, every time. The person-centered care that embodies Planetree is engrained in our culture and key to who we are and what we do,” says Dr. Kimberley Darey, President, Elmhurst Hospital.
“Planetree principles are seen throughout our organization in areas like our nature-inspired design, private patient rooms intentionally designed for patient comfort and caregiver efficiency, and programs to promote healing and nurturing, such as animal-assisted therapy and musicians in our lobby.”
The criteria that Elmhurst Hospital satisfied to achieve Planetree Gold Certification reflect what patients, residents, family members and healthcare professionals in hundreds of focus groups say matters most to them during a healthcare experience. This qualitative data aligns with the growing evidence base for person-centered care and establishes the Person-Centered Care Certification Program as a concrete framework for defining and measuring excellence in person-centeredness.
The components of a person-centered healthcare experience include the quality of patient-provider interactions, access to information, family involvement and the physical environment of care. Importantly, the criteria also focus on how the organization supports staff, opportunities for staff, patients and families to have a voice in the way care is delivered and the ways Elmhurst Hospital is reaching beyond its walls to care for its community.
Elmhurst Hospital is part of NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health, a fully integrated healthcare delivery system committed to providing access to quality, vibrant, community-connected care, serving an area of more than 4.2 million residents across six northeast Illinois counties. For more information, visit EEHealth.org.
For more information on Planetree’s Person-Centered Care Certification Program, visit planetree.org/certification.