A total healing environment: the Yavapai Regional Medical Center story

Patient care executives are continually challenged to increase productivity without additional expense or negative effect on patient care quality. Identifying the optimal organizational set of circumstances that meets the needs of all stakeholders is a challenge for even the most dedicated and skilled executive. This article is a case study in which healthcare leaders intuitively believed in a healing environment and successfully implemented the organizational changes necessary to translate the essence of healing into their traditional organization. The experiences of seven executives within the organization provide critical information for organizations considering implementation of a healing model in traditional settings. Characteristics of a healing model, planning and implementation considerations, and the measurement of the outcomes are identified. In addition, the research methodology used to examine the relationship of healing model characteristics to selected organizational outcomes is described.