Longmont United Hospital Receives

National Designation as Patient-Centered Hospital 

Planetree Organization Recognizes Hospital for Achievement and

Innovation in Patient-Centered Approaches to Care

(Longmont, CO) Planetree, Inc. formally designated Longmont United Hospital as a "Planetree Designated Patient-Centered Hospital." This designation recognizes Longmont United Hospital's achievement and innovation in fostering a hospital culture in which providers partner with patients and families, and where patient comfort, dignity, empowerment and well-being are prioritized with providing top-quality clinical care.

Longmont United Hospital is only the second hospital in the state of Colorado and one of the only eleven hospitals in North American to have received the Patient-Centered Hospital Designation since the program's launch in 2007.

"We are honored to receive this designation. It was achieved through the conscientious, caring work of all the employees, physicians and volunteers," commented Mitchell C. Carson. "We are grateful to have such an excellent team of healthcare professionals going above and beyond to provide safe, patient-centered care."

About the Designation

The Patient-Centered Hospital Designation criterion was developed by Planetree, a not-for-profit organization that has been at the forefront of the movement to transform healthcare format he perspective of the patient for more than 30 years. Today, the Planetree membership network is a global community of more than 250 acute care hospitals, continuing care facilities, outpatient clinics, and consumer health libraries. The Planetree model is implemented in a variety of settings, ranging from 25-bed critical access hospitals to large urban medical centers with more than 2,000 beds.

Designed to provide a level of consistency in what it means to be a patient-centered hospital, the designation criteria area passed largely on direct patient feedback obtained in hundreds of focus group sessions conducted by Planetree over the last several years in which patients across the country shared what is most important to them during hospitalization. The criteria cover both quality of care and the ways in which that care is delivered. Aspects of the health care experience addressed by the designation criteria include patient-provider interactions, access to information, family involvement, the physical environment, food and nutrition, spirituality, arts and entertainment, and integrative therapies. In addition, the criteria focus on how the hospital is supporting its staff, opportunities for staff, patients and families to have a voice in the way care is delivered and the ways that the hospital is reaching beyond its walls to care for its community.

"Planetree is very pleased to award Longmont United Hospital this designation," said Susan Frampton, Ph.D., Planetree's President. "This recognition differentiates Longmont as a hospital firmly committed to ensuring that its patients, staff and visitors feel cared for, supported, listened to, and empowered as partners in the health care experience."

Frampton went on to add, "This designation is a real testament to the staff, physicians, board members and volunteers at Longmont United HOspital, all of whom have played an important part in integrating Planetree's philosophy of patient-centered care into their day to day work. through their steadfast approach to examining the health car experience form the perspective of the patient, they are not only making a difference for individual patients and family members, they are effectively transforming the culture of their organization, and fundamentally altering what their community expects when they come to the hospital."

Initiatives Implemented at Longmont United Hospital

Guided by these core components of a patient-centered culture, over the past twelve years, Longmont United Hospital has implemented a substantial number of initiatives and practices designed to enhance both the patient and staff experience.

One key initiative implemented at Longmont United Hospital was the addition of complementary care in the BirthPlace for all postpartum patients. In 1998, a message therapy pilot program began which provided a 30-minute massage to postpartum patients by licensed massage therapists. The intention of this program was to provide pain relief and promote postpartum recovery. Patients evaluated the pilot program with pre- and post- massage surveys that showed 100% satisfaction with 70% of patients never having received message therapy previously.

Another initiative which patients have been most of appreciative of is the spiritual care program at Longmont United Hospital. It is comprised of one full-time board certified chaplain and 79 volunteer chaplains, pastors, Stephen Ministers, Parish Nurses and Clinical Pastoral Education students. The dedicated volunteers reflect the religious diversities of Longmont's community. The spiritual care team provided over 10,000 patients visits annually with 24/7 on-call coverage.

Initiatives implemented at Longmont United Hospital particularly important to the health of the patients canned communities it serves are composting, recycling, and the medication take-back program. In prior years, the hospital has recycled and composted 70,000 pounds annually, as well as in 2008, collected 800 pounds of medications that would otherwise gone into the waste water stream. All of these initiatives are in alignment with the hospital's Mission and Environmental Statement.

Qualifying for Designation

To become a Planetree Designated Patient-Centered Hospital, Longmont United Hospital had to demonstrate that it has successfully implemented programs that meet the spirit and intent of the designation criteria. As part of the designation process, a site visit by representatives from Planetree was completed and longmont United Hospital was asked to demonstrate that specific patient-centered policies are in place. This included policies such as non-restrictive visiting hours, an open medical chart policy, all staff members, at all levels, are involved in the implementation of patient-centered care, ad the hospital's physical environment is healing and engages all of the human senses.

An independent committee of national health care experts and CEOs from previously designated hospitals make all designation determinations on a blinded basis.

About Longmont United Hospital

Longmont United Hospital is a full service, community hospital with specialty areas in Women's & Children's Services, Cardiology, Comprehensive Surgical Services, Cancer Care, Emergency and Trauma Services, Orthopedic Services, and Neurosurgery. It offers quality impatient and outpatient health care services in addition to 24-hour emergency department services. The Emergency Department is a Level III trauma center that has the capacity to treat approximately 45,000 patients each year. www.luhcares.org.

About Planetree

Founded in 1978 by a patient in San Francisco, today Planetree is an internationally recognized leader ing the growing movement to transform the health care experience by considering health care facilities, processes and protocols from the perspective of the patented. In diverse healthcare settings throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, Planetree is demonstrating that patient-centered care is not only an empowering philosophy, but also a viable, vital, and cost-effective model of care.