PATIENT-FOCUSED CARE: Griffin/Planetree Show the Way
An article in the February issue of Inc. magazine profiles the patient-centered care model of Derby, CT-based Griffin Hospital. The consumer-focused approach, based on the Planetree vision, has boosted patient satisfaction to an "astounding" 96% high -- a level "almost unheard of in the hospital business." Further, hospital admissions have increased 2% each year for the last four years "with healthy revenues and cash flow ... all while being within coughing distance of no fewer than seven fiercely competing hospitals, including the world-renowned Yale-New Haven Hospital" (Freedman, Feb. issue).
Holistic Medicine
The Planetree Healthcare Alliance was founded 20 years ago in San Francisco as "a new type of hospital" in which patients and their families are "treated humanely, and which nurtures mind, body and spirit in an environment that is patient friendly and supports healing." Since Griffin acquired the Planetree organization in January 1998, it has grown from 12 to 18 members with 32 facilities in the United States and Norway. Griffin is the largest of the Planetree facilities (Griffin Health Services Corporation release, 2/3) See www.planetree.org for more information on the Planetree model of patient care.