Fox Chase Cancer Center Awarded Planetree International’s Highest Level of Achievement for Excellence in Person-Centered Care

Brice Corbin
Brice Corbin, Fox Chase Cancer Center, accepting an award at the 2023 Planetree International Conference.

PHILADELPHIA (January 31, 2023)—Fox Chase Cancer Center has been awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International, which recognizes Fox Chase’s achievement and innovation in the delivery of person-centered care. Fox Chase is one of only 98 healthcare organizations worldwide to earn this prestigious award, and only one of four organizations that focus on cancer care to be honored.

“Fox Chase Cancer Center has long been proud of the personalized, high-quality care that it offers to both patients and their families. We have a long list of honors that acknowledge that fact, but to receive an accolade like this from an esteemed organization like Planetree International underscores how committed we are to our patients and their families,” said Robert Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS, president and CEO of Fox Chase.

Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care represents the highest level of achievement in person-centered care based on evidence and standards. Person-centered healthcare prioritizes the active participation of patients and their families throughout the healthcare process, with an emphasis on partnership, compassion, transparency, inclusion, and quality.

“The Planetree Certification is the only award that recognizes excellence in person-centeredness across the continuum of care,” said Susan Frampton, president of Planetree International, a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of the movement to transform healthcare from the perspective of patients for more than 40 years.

“This Gold Certification signals to its patients and community that Fox Chase Cancer Center is an organization where staff partner with patients and families, and where patient and family comfort, dignity, empowerment, and well-being are prioritized as key elements of providing top-quality clinical care,” she added.

The criteria that Fox Chase satisfied to achieve Planetree Gold Certification reflect what patients, residents, family members, and healthcare professionals in hundreds of focus groups say matters most to them during a healthcare experience. This qualitative data aligns with the growing evidence base for person-centered care and establishes the Person-Centered Care Certification Program as a concrete framework for defining and measuring excellence in person-centeredness.

The criteria address components of a person-centered healthcare experience, including the quality of patient-provider interactions, access to information, family involvement, and the physical environment of care. Importantly, the criteria also focus on how the organization supports staff and opportunities for staff, patients, and families to have a voice in the way care is delivered, and the ways that Fox Chase is reaching beyond its walls to care for its community.

As part of the Certification process—which included a validation assessment by representatives from Planetree—discussion with Fox Chase patients, families, and staff validated that specific person-centered policies are in place, including non-restrictive visiting hours and a shared medical record policy; that staff members at all levels are involved in the implementation of person-centered care; and that the organization’s physical environment supports patient and family engagement in their care.

The process also included a review of the organization’s performance on patient experience and quality of care measures, and how measurement of these indicators improves organizational outcomes.

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About Planetree International

Planetree is a passionate not-for-profit global healthcare leader setting the global standard for person-centered excellence across the continuum of care. Unlike formulaic approaches, Planetree honors the unique qualities of organizations and partners to strengthen meaningful connections between staff, patients, families, and communities. Powered by over 50,000 patients and families, and over 40 years of experience working with global healthcare organizations, Planetree delivers the leading evidence-based framework for co-designing organizational roadmaps to improved patient and family engagement, better clinical outcomes, increased staff retention and recruitment, and high value care. Learn more at Planetree.org.

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

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