Planetree Certification: Putting Patients at the Center of Cancer Care

At Atrium Health Levine Cancer, our dedication to delivering world-class treatment never overshadows our commitment to the real people, the real families and the real lives touched by our care.

From our focus on family involvement to our efforts in integrative wellness, we put patients at the center of everything we do. That’s why we were the world’s first cancer network awarded to earn Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International.  

More than anything, we’re proud of what this prestigious award means for our patients. Research shows that the approach followed by Planetree-certified centers leads to better care and results.

The care that matters most to patients

We first earned Planetree certification in 2017. Today, fewer than 100 health care facilities worldwide are Gold-certified by Planetree, and Levine Cancer is one of only 4 that focus specifically on cancer.

To achieve this recognition, we excelled across criteria that reflect what patients, families and clinicians say matters most to them. And we’ve continually demonstrated that patient and family comfort, dignity, empowerment are well-being are prioritized as key elements of our top-quality clinical care.

Here are a few of the ways we put patients first:

• We empower physicians and nurses to drive patient-centered processes that improve clinical care at our more than 25 locations.
• We address every aspect of our patients’ well-being, offering healing art programs, nutrition workshops, and integrative therapies like yoga and Tai chi.
• We focus on enhancing our patients’ quality of life after cancer, offering robust survivorship programs.
• We founded the first Financial Toxicity Tumor Board, which helps patients navigate complex financial challenges related to cancer treatment.
• We give patients and families a voice through our specially created Patient and Family Advisory Council.
• We support our community’s health through a variety of education and outreach efforts.

Every program, policy and offering is backed by the full support, collaboration and commitment of our leadership team, oncologists and care providers – a key component driving our success.