Planetree International Conference 2018

Planetree International, comprised of six offices positioned globally, and countless partners throughout the world, is uniquely positioned to represent the patient voice and advance how professional caregivers engage with patients and their families.

It’s inception, in 1978, by Angelica Thieriot, who suffered a series of traumatic health care experiences after falling ill. She created this model, that vowed to reclaim person centred practice and focus within healthcare.

We had the distinct pleasure of meeting this trailblazer, Angie Thieriot, at the 40th Annual Planetree International Conference in Boston, MA this month . Although our time with Angie was brief, we found ourselves thanking her for the immense work she’s undertaken through the years to create person centred environments within healthcare. We sympathized with the ‘trudging on’ that it takes to continue to strive for better, and to encourage and support people so they can do best for those they’re caring for.

We thanked Angie as healthcare providers, who without the tireless efforts of her and her team, the needle toward a person centred approach to caring wouldn’t have moved in nursing homes and hospitals. We thanked her for bringing together organizations from all over the world (literally ALL over – from Abu Dhabi!) to learn, celebrate, and connect in our shared missions. To come together to celebrate the theme of the event, that Life is Good.

Angie, through her creation of Planetree, has paved the way for fellow ‘Care Bosses’ within the world of healthcare and caregiving. Planetree describes a Care Boss as: “An individual who cares for and about others” and “A person who is the boss of their own care.” We were honoured to hear countless stories from Care Bosses from around the world, from BJ Miller’s inspiring story of being his own Care Boss to Kayla Redig who has become a patient advocate for not only herself, but other young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer, and countless others who truly embody person centred care. It was inspiring to see what this movement has transpired into around the world, and to see the unique initiatives with the common goal of positive change in healthcare. It was very apparent through each and every attendee that there is great work being done to work towards attaining true person centred care, we felt honoured to experience this.

Thank you to everyone who organized this incredible, mind-broadening event, to those who travelled from all over, and to those who came with open and inquiring minds to learn and network with like minded people.

Thank you!