Planetree Gold Certification

Stating that everyone working at Anadolu Medical Center contributed to the success in the field of Person-Centered Care, Person-Centered Care Manager Asuman Kuşçu said, "Person-Centered Care consists of multidimensional studies that require a change in corporate culture. It defines that considering a person not only as a “patient” but as a person with his experiences, values, preferences, and expectations and putting the person in the center of the health care service. Although this may seem easy, it can be confusing when it comes to the fact that in healthcare institutions, each patient is seen as unique and care is shaped accordingly. Because it is necessary to leave a one-sided perspective while providing health care and work together with the patient and his family members. How to do this was shown by an organization called Planetree, which introduced the concept of ‘patient-centeredness' about 40 years ago," she said.

Planetree, which was founded by a patient who had a bad hospital experience in 1978, started to work on how healthcare organizations can be more remedial environments for patients. In this context, more than 50,000 patients, patient relatives, and healthcare professionals were interviewed to get their opinions on what they expect for a better health experience. As seen by the end of these interviews, people’s expectations from healthcare services are similar in general. Expectations such as informing the patient more effectively about the health status, establishing more communication with the patient and the patient's family, making health institutions physically more remedial environments, and giving more space to the individual preferences of patients have set the standards for person-centered care accreditation in health institutions today.

Anadolu Medical Center, which received Planetree Bronze Certification in 2017, has become the first hospital to be awarded Planetree Gold Certification in Turkey and nearby regions for its success in Person-Centered Care. Inspectors from Planetree, a leading non-governmental organization on person-centered care, conducted an inspection at Anadolu Medical Center and interviewed a total of 144 people, including patients, relatives, and staff.

Explaining that Person-Centered Care studies are a game changer, Anadolu Medical Center Director of Quality and Patient Safety Dr. Hisham Alahdab said, "For instance, we have established a patient board consisting of our volunteer patients in the hospital. Patients not only provide counseling but also shape the hospital together with us and share in the decisions taken. The Board meets regularly. We present the decisions taken in the hospital to the board and put them into practice after their evaluation." We have also implemented many projects such as open registration, patient-preferred 24/7 visit, care partnership, and bedside nurse shift handover. Again, for example, we plan care according to the patient's preferred meal times, meal content, sleeping hours, and visit preferences, unless there is a medical obstacle. Besides, to give an example of some of our distinctive practices; we have a kitchen where patients can cook their own meals. We have a companionship program in intensive care. We also have many services such as a praying room, yoga, music recital, and marbling workshops."

Patient relatives can stay in intensive care with their patients. Pointing out that the companionship practice has been implemented in the intensive care unit at Anadolu Medical Center for eligible patients and their relatives who prefer it, Anadolu Medical Center Director of Quality and Patient Safety Dr. Hisham Alahdab said: "We take the companions who want to stay with their patients in the intensive care unit, not only as visitors who want to go and see their patients but also as those who want to stay with their patients in the intensive care unit. Of course, not every patient's relatives may be very willing and suitable to stay in intensive care conditions. We implement this in suitable patients," he said.

We focus on employees as well as patients

Emphasizing that one of the issues Planetree focuses on the most is the focus on employees, Asuman Kuşçu, Person-Centered Care manager at Anadolu Medical Center, said: "Just as we address the preferences, expectations, and needs of patients, conduct surveys and create projects, we address the expectations, preferences, and needs of employees in the same way. For example, not all employees can relax by doing yoga. Therefore, we take the feedback and expectations of the employees and plan the projects we will realize according to these expectations."

Our patients have expressed our practices very well

Dr. Hisham Alahdab, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, said that Planetree auditors stated that there are difficulties in the acceptance and internalization of this culture by physicians in institutions working on Person-Centered Care all over the world, and added: "However, our physician group really believes in the philosophy of Person-Centered Care, internalizes it and works eagerly to spread and implement it in the field." Alahdab said that the auditors were also very positively impressed by the patient groups, "Our inpatients expressed the practices carried out in our clinics very well. Especially, 'This place is like home for us... When we come here, we really feel a family atmosphere.' They also said that the staff at Anadolu Medical Center treated them with kindness, friendliness, and help, unlike other institutions."

Person-centered Care through the words of our patients:

• "All the nurses who care for me are really caring, friendly, and helpful. Even though I was going to have a difficult operation and my operation was postponed for 1 day due to some health problems, the support and motivating words of the nurses reduced my anxiety. They are also very nice to my pregnant daughter who stays with me as a companion. They even ask if she needs anything or wants anything."
• "They treat me as if I were the only patient here. They help me whenever I ask for help. You can feel their sincerity while doing all this. They never made me feel like they were doing it for their job."
• "They treat me as if I were the head of state here."
• "The view from our room is marvelous. I have just done a marbling activity. The staff is very friendly and caring. I feel like I'm on holiday, not in a hospital."