Related Experiment Videos
Quality with a human face? The Samuels Planetree model hospital unit
A E Blank1, S Horowitz, D Matza
1Grants Management and Research Support, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY 10003, USA.
The Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement
|June 1, 1995
Summary
Planetree
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Patient-Centered Care
- Hospital Restructuring
Background:
- Hospitals are restructuring care delivery.
- Planetree promotes educated health consumers and caring environments.
- Planetree emphasizes patient education and partnership, redesigning spaces for a homelike atmosphere.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overview Planetree's philosophy.
- To examine staff and patient satisfaction within the Planetree model.
- To contrast Planetree with Total Quality Management (TQM)/Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).
Main Methods:
- Overview of Planetree's philosophy and model.
- Examination of staff and patient satisfaction surveys.
- Comparative analysis with TQM/CQI practices.
Main Results:
- Preliminary surveys show higher satisfaction among Planetree nurses and nursing assistants.
- Patient satisfaction results are ambiguous; Planetree patients report similar satisfaction levels to those in comparable units.
- Planetree's impact on patient satisfaction requires further investigation.
Conclusions:
- Planetree and TQM/CQI share goals but may differ in approach and solutions.
- Further research is needed to determine if Planetree's humanizing approach benefits all patients and achieves desired outcomes.
- A long-term, multifaceted research program is recommended to evaluate Planetree's effectiveness.