•  Patient dignity gowns have been purchased that do away with the old light weight‚ open in the back hospital gowns.  Not only do the new gowns give more complete enclosure‚ but patients get to choose between three colors and designs.  “And we made sure we have 3X gowns‚ as well as one size for pediatric and teenage patients‚” says Shirley Mize who heads the Planetree Patient Dignity Gowns Team.

            •  A Pet Therapy Program has been put in place with specially trained dogs and their owners as volunteers.  Dee Cruzan‚ who led this Planetree project team‚ notes that animals can help some patients feel less lonely and less depressed.  “We’ve seen patients become more active and responsive during and after visiting with one of the great pet and owner teams we have in our program‚” she says.

            •  A Spoken Menu Team‚ led by dietician Jennifer Lehman‚ has bee initiated.  It involved having “restaurant style menus” in patient rooms and having a dietary aid visit with each patient every 24 hours to discover their wants and preferences.

            •  The Rotary Club of Silver City is donating a Labyrinth to the hospital’s courtyard and is working in conjunction with the hospital’s Planetree Spirituality Team‚ headed by Deacon Holguin‚ to train some Spirituality Team members in how to use the Labyrinth meditation path with patients and their family members.

            •  The hospital’s four orthopedic patient rooms have been redecorated with Southwestern colors‚ oak headboard and footboards‚ oak chairs with a Native American themed fabric‚ an oak valance‚ a TV for each patient and copper lights above the beds. These rooms will serve as a possible model for patient room renovation throughout the hospital. The Gila Regional Healing Environment team interviewed patients‚ nurses and physicians before implementing the changes‚ which are designed to make the rooms brighter and more home-like.

            •  Beth Allred‚ Assistant CFO‚ who heads a Planetree Aromatherapy Team‚ has initiated bread baking on the nursing units.

            •  Six GRMC caregivers and two Auxilians were trained to do “therapeutic clowning” in a three day program held at the hospital in June.

            •  A more patient friendly bill is being sent out by the medical center’s Business Office.

     Almost half the hospital’s employees have now been to a Planetree Retreat to help them understand and follow Planetree philosophies.

     Other Planetree projects are getting underway.  The hospital expects to expand its visiting hours soon‚ and the Planetree Integrative Therapies Team‚ headed by Brian Cunningham‚ Director of Rehabilitation‚ hopes to initiate massages for patients about to undergo surgery‚ for new moms after delivery‚ and for appropriate medical and surgical patients.

     “One reason we were accepted as a Planetree Affiliate Hospital is that we were already headed the right direction‚” says Bentley. “They were impressed by the friendliness of our staff‚ the colorful artwork we have hanging in our hallways‚ the bright Southwestern colors we use throughout the hospital and our gem of a courtyard‚” he added‚ “Plus‚ we already had some Planetree-like programs underway. We were the first hospital in New Mexico‚ for example‚ to offer the soft-touch mammotone pads to make mammography examinations more comfortable‚” says Bentley‚ “and our housekeeping caregivers already initiated a Goodwill Ambassador Program that encourages patients to tell them if anything is wrong with their rooms.”

     A number of new programs “in the Planetree spirit” have also been offered to caregivers.  A new Employee Assistance Program has been initiated that allows caregivers and their family members to receive help on a confidential basis for personal issues as well as recommendations for assistance with financial issues. The Planetree Culture and Communications Sub-Committee headed by has initiated a program in which all caregivers are given a certificate for a fifteen minute massage on their birthdays. An Employee Health Assessment was made available to all caregivers who were also given a $35 gift certificate for attending a free Stop Smoking Class with an incentive was also offered.  And caregivers are now eligible to participate in an Organizational Success Program which provides a once a year bonus to all employees if financial and satisfaction goals are met.

     Some signs that a Planetree culture is making a difference include the fact that the hospital’s Emergency Department has scored in the top 6% of hospitals in the country.