Deer Lodge, Montana – Deer Lodge Medical Center has been awarded
Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree
International. This
Person-Centered Care Certification® recognizes the organization’s achievement and innovation in the
delivery of person-centered care. Deer Lodge Medical Center is one of
only 93 healthcare organizations worldwide to earn this prestigious award.
There are 27 Gold certified sites in the United States!
Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care represents the
highest level of achievement in person-centered care, based on evidence
and standards. Person-centered healthcare prioritizes the active participation
of patients, residents, and their families throughout the healthcare process
with an emphasis on partnership, compassion, transparency, inclusion,
and quality.
“The Planetree Certification is the only award that recognizes excellence
in person-centeredness across the continuum of care,” said Susan
Frampton, President of
Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that has been at the forefront of the movement
to transform healthcare from the perspective of patients for more than
40 years. “This Gold Certification signals to its patients, and
community that Deer Lodge Medical Center is an organization where staff
partner with patients and families, and where patient and family comfort,
dignity, empowerment and well-being are prioritized as key elements of
providing top-quality clinical care.”
“I am extremely proud of our staff, providers, patients and families
in their dedication to receiving the Planetree Gold Certification. It
is truly a showing of the culture that we have at Deer Lodge Medical Center
to always providing Excellence in Person Centered Care.”, Jaena
Richards, COO.
The criteria that Deer Lodge Medical Center 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 criteria address components of a person-centered healthcare experience,
including 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 that Deer Lodge Medical Center is reaching beyond its walls
to care for its community.
As part of the Certification process — which included a site visit
by representatives from Planetree — discussion with Deer Lodge Medical
Center patients, families and current staff validated that specific person-centered
policies are in place, including non-restrictive visiting hours and a
shared medical record policy; that staff members at all levels are involved
in the implementation of person-centered care; and that the organization’s
physical environment supports patient and family engagement in their care.
The process also included a review of the organization’s performance
on patient experience and quality of care measures, and how measurement
of these indicators improves organizational outcomes.
Deer Lodge Medical Center is a non-profit 501c3 community hospital. Managed
by Cypress Healthcare, Deer Lodge Medical Center is a certified critical
access hospital serving Powell County and the outlying communities. Deer
Lodge Medical Center offers inpatient and outpatient care, 24-hour emergency
care, physical therapy, general surgery, chiropractic care and a broad
array of specialty services supported both through the hospital and clinic.
The Deer Lodge Clinic offers a wide array of services that encompass specialists
to help take care of your needs. We offer a variety of special programs,
from Immunization Clinics to Diabetes and Coumadin monitors.
About Planetree International
Planetree International is a mission based not-for-profit organization
that has partnered with over 700 healthcare organizations around the world
and across the care continuum to transform how care is delivered. Powered
by over 50,000 focus group attendees comprised of patients, families,
and staff, and 40 years of experience working with healthcare organizations,
the Planetree approach emphasizes the quality of human interactions that
occur within healthcare settings, the importance of connecting healthcare
personnel to the purpose and meaning of their work, and practical strategies
for engaging patients and family members as true partners in care. These
elements have been consolidated into the Person-Centered Care Certification®
Program, which provides organizations with a structured process to guide
culture change efforts that yield improvements in clinical and operational
outcomes. Drawing on this experience, in 2017 Planetree partnered with
the National Academy of Medicine to introduce an evidence-based Guiding
Framework for Patient and Family Engaged Care.