History of Planetree

Angelica Thieriot founded Planetree in 1978, after a series of difficult health experiences motivated her to find a solution and change the culture of healthcare for good.

Planetree is a passionate not-for-profit healthcare leader setting the global standard for person-centered excellence across the continuum of care. Unlike formulaic approaches, we honor the unique qualities of your organization and partner to strengthen meaningful connections between staff, patients, families, and the communities you serve. Planetree delivers the leading evidence-based framework for co-designing your roadmap to improved patient and family engagement, better clinical outcomes, increased staff retention and recruitment, and high value care.

Visit Planetree.org to read more about the history of the our organization.

Hear Angie talk about her healthcare experiences, and how she came to found Planetree, in her own words.

Hear Dr. Susan Frampton, President of Planetree, discuss the history and mission of the organization.

What is Person-Centered Care?

Person-centered care is a systemized approach to delivering healthcare in a way that centers on the perspective of the whole patient and their loved ones, while promoting a healthy, encouraging environment for caregivers and addressing the health needs of the organization’s surrounding community.

Person-Centered Care: The Future of Wellness

Based on growing evidence and experience partnering with organizations and patient advocates around the world, Planetree affirms that person-centered care is more than the best approach for improving healthcare outcomes. It’s a goal the entire industry is moving toward. Our Person-Centered Care Certified organizations are leading the charge in a wellness revolution, setting an example for every professional who cares for patients.

It’s as much a moral imperative as it is a blueprint for success: Person-Centered Care Certified care centers lead in HCAHPS and other patient experience scores, patient outcomes, employee satisfaction and retention, and reputation. With results like that, it’s no wonder that healthcare organizations across the globe are moving toward the person-centered model — and making their communities healthier and happier in the process.

Contact Planetree to Get Started

Whether you’re just starting out on your person-centered care journey or looking for ways to improve an existing initiative, Planetree offers certification and consulting services that empower healthcare organizations to make the changes that are best for their patients, staff, and community.

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Already working with Planetree and ready to apply for certification? Click Here

The Construct for Caring

For over four decades, Planetree has developed and refined an evidence-based process for implementing organization-wide culture change, procedures, processes, and best practices for transitioning to the person-centered care model and earning Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care.

We work with you each step of the way, partnering to co-design the best path for your specific organization’s needs and providing assessments, training, and other services to help you reach your goals.


Learn what it takes to become Person-Centered Care Certified.

See Our Person-Centered Care Certification Criteria