By: Deborah Fedeli, Director of Patient Centered Services and Steven Fredric Horowitz, MD

Stamford Hospital has earned the Planetree Distinction Award for Leadership and Innovation in Patient-Centered Care, placing it among only seven of the 350 Planetree facilities in the world to be recognized with the honor. The prestigious award acknowledges the Hospital’s ongoing efforts to advance patient-centered care through participation in research, publication, outreach and innovation.

“I have witnessed an unprecedented commitment on the part of Stamford Hospital to improving the patient, family and staff experience, which has resulted in their recent Designation with Distinction award,” said Susan B. Frampton, President, Planetree Inc. “They join a small, select group of hospitals in our country that have demonstrated such a commitment to engaging patients and families in co-designing the highest quality, most patient-centered experience of care possible. I congratulate them on this impressive achievement.”Ms. Frampton presented the Distinction Award to Steven Horowitz, MD, Planetree Medical Director at Stamford Hospital and Deborah Fedeli, Director, Patient-centered Services at Stamford Hospital during the annual Planetree Conference in Chicago this past week.

“We are honored to be recognized for our initiatives to change the way health care is delivered to our patients,” said Brian Grissler, President and CEO, Stamford Hospital. “The results reflect a unique and passionate team effort by everyone across our institution.”

The Distinction Award honored Stamford Hospital for complementing efforts to meet the needs of its community and staff of professional caregivers with more broad-based efforts to build awareness, strengthen and continued innovation of patient-centered care through unique programs, such as:

• Paint the Town Pink is a month long, annual program driven by Stamford Hospital during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which celebrated its 10^th Anniversary in 2014. The program creates positive change by increasing awareness and screenings in order to detect breast cancers earlier when they are more easily treated. The program uses roughly 28 separate social and educational events during the month in collaboration with businesses, organizations and community partners in Stamford and nearby Greenwich and Norwalk. These events reach more than 4,500 women and their families each year, with funds raised supporting Stamford Hospital’s breast cancer service and screening programs.

• Go Red for Women, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, raises awareness about women’s heart disease and cardiovascular health options. As the AHA lead partner in Fairfield and Westchester County, the Go Red program works to change perceptions about women’s heart disease through a popular lunch with community women as well as fun, interactive health information sessions and the Go Red BetterU Makeover Program.

• Kids’ Fitness and Nutrition Services (KIDS’ FANS) is a community collaborative program to promote smart eating, physical actively and a healthy weight among our children. By partnering with the City of Stamford and local community organizations, the KIDS’ FANS program is able to use after school and other programs to reach families of varied financial and cultural backgrounds to promote simple nutrition and exercise tips.

Founded in 1978 by a patient in San Francisco, today Planetree is an internationally recognized leader in the growing movement to transform the healthcare experience by considering health care facilities, processes and protocols from the perspective of the patient. Stamford Hospital initially received Planetree Designation in November 2012. In order to achieve Planetree Distinction, a hospital must first meet a rigorous set of criteria that patients, family members and healthcare professionals have indicated as elements that matter the most when it comes to their healthcare experience. Those who are able to meet all the criteria have successfully achieved the highest standard in patient-centered care.

You can learn more at Stamford Hospital’s Planetree page.