This much-needed resource shows how to apply these methods to the larger issues of health care delivery such as managed care, workforce shortages, patients; "right to know" legislation, and hospital marketing and branding efforts. Putting Patients First is filled with illustrative case examples drawn from hospitals and health care organizations that have successfully implemented the Planetree model.

Table of Contents

Part One: Nine Elements of Patient-Centered Care.

• The Importance of Human Interaction (Laura Gilpin).
• Informing and Empowering Diverse Populations: Consumer Health Libraries and Patient Education (Candace Ford and Laura Gilpin).
• Healing Partnerships: The Importance of Including Family and Friends (Susan Edgman-Levitan).
• Nutrition: The Nurturing Aspects of Food (Kathy Reinke and Carol Ryczek).
• Spirituality: Inner Resources for Healing (George Handzo and Jo Clare Wilson).
• Human Touch: The Essentials of Communicating Caring Through Massage (Michele Spatz with Dianne Storby).
• Healing Arts: Nutrition for the Soul (Roger Ulrich and Laura Gilpin).
• Integrating Complementary and Alternative Practices into Conventional Care (David Katz).
• Healing Environments: Architecture and Design Conducive to Health (Bruce Arneill and Karrie Frasca-Beaulieu).

Part Two: Future Directions for Patient-Centered Care.

• Building the Business Case for Patient-Centered Care (Patrick A. Charmel).
• Creating Consensus: Partnering with Your Medical Staff (Steven Horowitz).
• Recruitment and Retention: The Future of the Health Care Workforce (Charlene Honeycutt and Phyllis Stoneburner).
• Green Hospitals: The New Health Care Environmentalism (Trevor Hancock).
• Adapting Patient-Centered Care to the Long-Term Care Environment (Allan Komarek).
• Holistic Hospitals: Planetree on the Spiritual Frontier (Leland Kaiser).
• Transformation and the Future of Health Care (Randall Carter, Susan B. Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick A. Charmel).
• Planetree Alliance Member List.
• Name Index.
• Subject Index.