Enloe Medical Center Honored as Leader for Innovation in Person-Centered Care

CHICO, Calif., May 12, 2022 – Enloe Medical Center earned Certification with Distinction for Leadership and Innovation in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International on May 5. The honor recognizes the organization’s work to advance person-centered care through outreach, research, scholarship and innovation. Since the program’s inception, only seven organizations worldwide have held the Distinction Award.

Enloe will be the only organization honored with the “2022 Distinction in Leadership and Innovation in Person-Centered Care Award” during the Planetree International Conference on Person-Centered Care later this month in Anaheim.

Achieving Distinction status – Planetree’s highest honor – requires organizations to earn re-certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care at the Gold level, while building on their success beyond the standards outlined in the Person-Centered Care Certification® program.

“Receiving Certification with Distinction from Planetree is particularly gratifying at this time in our history,” said Mike Wiltermood, Enloe’s President and CEO. “When viewed in the context of multiple regional disasters experienced in our community, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, this recognition is a true testament to the dedication and skill of the caregivers at Enloe.”

“All patients, families and health care professionals can benefit from the experience of hospitals like Enloe Medical Center with well-established person-centered cultures of excellence,” said Susan Frampton, President of Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that has been at the forefront of the movement to transform health care from the perspective of patients for more than 40 years. “By sharing its successes and challenges, Enloe Medical Center has exponentially increased the impact of its person-centered culture to benefit not only patients, families, and professional caregivers in its local community, but also those all over the country and even globally.”

The criteria Enloe met to achieve Planetree certification reflects what patients, residents, family members and health care professionals in hundreds of focus groups say matters most to them during a health care experience. The criteria address components of health care focused on the person, including the quality of patient-provider interactions, access to information, family involvement and the physical environment of care.

“It is very exciting that the announcement of this award coincides with the culmination of our annual Quality Summit, a tradition at Enloe Medical Center,” said Marcia Nelson, M.D., Enloe’s Chief Medical Officer. “The Quality Summit highlights the various quality improvement projects undertaken by Enloe staff throughout the previous year.”

The criteria for Planetree certification 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 Enloe is caring for its community. As part of the certification process, Enloe Medical Center showcased programs which actively reduce health care disparities, improve overall health, lower costs, and improve staff engagement and well-being.

To learn more about Planetree’s Distinction for Leadership and Innovation, visit https://www.planetree.org/insights-and-resources.

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