Wales Home takes home another prize

Last Thursday the Wales Home and CHSLD Wales Inc. were informed that they will be receiving a Gold Designation from Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that partners with healthcare organizations around the world to improve and recognize success in person-centered care. This award represents the highest level of achievement recognized by the group.

Planetree uses its “International Person-centered Designation Program” to formally recognize excellence in care that is focused on the indivduals in various types of healthcare facilities. There are three tiers of recognition: Bronze, Silver, and Gold, with each tier representing an incrementally higher level of achievement in care. There are a total of 139 Planetree-certified sites worldwide: 80 gold designations, 8 silver, and 51 bronze. The Wales Home has thus become part of a very small group of distinguished healthcare facilities in the world, and one of six in Canada. The CHSLD Wales is the only gold-designated long-term care facility in Quebec.

According to a press release issued by the Wales Home following the announcement, the road to this recognition began in 2016, when it was discovered that the home and long term care facility were already in line with many of Planetree’s values. The organization’s main components include valuing human interactions, stimulation through food and nutrition, evolution through arts and entertainment, including loved ones in care, creating a healing environment, communication through human touch, being open to complementary therapies, partnering with the community, sharing information, and supporting the quest for personal development.

The Wales Home began its Planetree collaboration by creating the HOME (Humanize, Openness, Milieu-de-vie, Excellence) committee. This committee was designed to ensure that employees are properly educated about the Planetree model and that this model is correctly implemented in all facets of care. The home then proceeded to train all its employees and board members via Planetree retreats. The retreats further educated employees about Planetree and also served as a fun way to demonstrate employee appreciation.

The Executive Director, Brendalee Piironen, and a few employees will travel to Boston in October to participate in the celebration of Planetree’s 40th Anniversary and also partake in the 2018 Planetree International Conference on Person-centered Care, at which time the Wales Home will receive the Gold Designation.