About Planetree                                                          

Planetree Vision, Mission and Beliefs Statements

Vision
As a global catalyst and leader Planetree promotes the development and implementation of innovative models of healthcare that focus on healing and nurturing body, mind and spirit. 

Mission
Planetree is a non-profit organization that provides education and information in a collaborative community of healthcare organizations, facilitating efforts to create patient centered care in healing environments.

Beliefs
We believe…

    • that we are human beings, caring for other human beings

    • we are all caregivers

    • care giving is best achieved through kindness and compassion

    • safe, accessible, high quality care is fundamental to patient centered care

    • in a holistic approach to meeting people's needs of body, mind and spirit

    • families, friends and loved ones are vital to the healing process

    • access to understandable health information can empower individuals to participate in their health.

    • the opportunity for individuals to make personal choices related to their care is essential

    • physical environments can enhance healing, health and wellbeing

    • illness can be a transformational experience for patients, families and caregivers


    Our Roots

    As Angelica Thieriot battled a rare viral infection, she sat staring at the cold, blank walls of her hospital room. Nurses hurried in and out without regard to Angelica as an individual, leaving her to spend hours feeling lonely and afraid. She was disheartened to find that this lack of personalized care threatened to overshadow the benefits of the hospital’s high-tech environment.

    Angelica’s experiences led her to envision a different type of hospital where patients could receive care in a truly healing environment that would also provide them with access to the information needed to become active participants in their own care and wellbeing.

    In 1978, Angelica founded Planetree, taking the name from the roots of modern Western medicine -- the tree that Hippocrates sat under as he taught some of the earliest medical students in ancient Greece.


    Branching Out

    Today, Planetree is an internationally recognized leader in patient-centered care. In healthcare settings throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, Planetree is demonstrating that patient-centered care is not only an empowering philosophy, but a viable, vital, and cost-effective model.

    Our affiliate sites operate in diverse healthcare settings, with each site adapting the Planetree model as required by its unique needs. These facilities range from small rural hospitals with 25 beds to large urban medical centers with over 2,000 beds.

    The Planetree model is implemented in acute and critical care departments, emergency departments, long term care facilities, outpatient services, as well as ambulatory care and community health centers.

    Planetree has received recognition in numerous publications including The New York Times, JAMA, Prevention Magazine, Healthcare Forum Journal, Hospital & Health Networks, Nursing Times, The Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders, Health Facilities Management, and Newsweek Japan.


    The Planetree Model

    Since its founding as a nonprofit organization, Planetree has pioneered methods for personalizing, humanizing and demystifying the healthcare experience for patients and their families.

    The Planetree model of care is a patient-centered, holistic approach to healthcare, promoting mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and physical healing. It empowers patients and families through the exchange of information and encourages healing partnerships with caregivers. It seeks to maximize positive healthcare outcomes by integrating optimal medical therapies and incorporating art and nature into the healing environment.

    Planetree continues to innovate, broadening our collective understanding of the concept of healing, and continuing our network’s expansion so that a growing number of patients and caregivers can experience the dignity, compassion, and humanity that are hallmarks of the Planetree philosophy.

 

Measurable Outcomes

2007 Planetree Annual Report

2006 Planetree Annual Report

2005 Planetree Annual Report