Not many people would ever say they were actually looking forward to a trip to the hospital. Then again, there aren’t many hospitals in the country like Griffin Hospital, a 160-bed acute care community hospital in Derby, Conn.

Griffin Hospital takes just about everything you envision when you hear the word “hospital” and turns it on its head. At Griffin, traditional hospital features like cold tile floors, fluorescent lights, and intimidating nurse’s stations are replaced by carpeted floors, soft indirect lighting, an open-floor design with no barriers between nurses and patients, and the smell of fresh-baked bread.

According to Patrick Charmel, president and CEO, Griffin looks and feels more like a hotel than a hospital, with a home-like kitchen for family and patient use, quiet lounges with aquariums and pianos, a health library with Internet and e-mail access, free valet parking for arriving patients, and concierge-like volunteers who greet patients and visitors in the lobby.

Welcome to the world of patient-centered care and a facility that is arguably the most successful hospital of this kind in the world.

A long journey
Charmel has been with Griffin Hospital since the early 1980s, when things hit rock bottom. “In a survey we conducted in the community back then, we asked residents for their first, second, and third choices of hospitals and if there was any hospital they would avoid if possible—and 30% said they would avoid Griffin,” he said. “On top of that, the hospital was struggling financially, so there was a serious question about our future viability.”

Charmel knew he and the Griffin team had to focus on the right areas for improvement. “We knew we couldn’t compete based on clinical prowess with the other hospitals in our area, which are much larger and have greater capa-bilities, so we decided to become extremely consumer-focused and responsive. This was a pretty radical concept for healthcare 20 years ago.”

In the early ’90s, Griffin Hospital adopted the Planetree Model of patient-centered care, a holistic approach to healing that focuses on patients’ mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and physical needs. The goal of the model is to create healing partnerships among patients, families, and caregivers. It incorporates art and nature into patients’ environments and, as evidenced at Griffin Hospital, recognizes the importance of architecture and design in the healing process.

In 1994, Griffin received $30 million in funding to build a 100,000 square-foot facility that would be custom designed to incorporate the principles of the Planetree Model. “This was the beginning of the reinvention and transformation of Griffin Hospital into a consumer-responsive, patient-centered care organization committed to providing personalized, humanistic care,” said Charmel.

Talking to patients
“We spent a lot of time talking to people about what they felt would be the ideal hospital experience,” said Charmel. “People told us about how frightening and intimidating hospitals are, so we set out to create something that was 180 degrees different from that expectation.”

Charmel realized such an undertaking would take more than just a new building—it would take a real culture change in the organization. The company began sending employees on overnight off-site retreats at an austere convent on the Connecticut shoreline where they participated in exercises and programs that allowed them to see the hospital experience through the patient’s eyes. Employees stayed in simple rooms with a roommate they didn’t know, and no TVs or telephones and participated in exercises like feeding each other, giving them a real feel for the patient experience.

“It’s completely transformed how we deliver care,” said Charmel. All new employees are scheduled to attend the retreat after six months, and Griffin also offers employee perks and bonuses to reinforce the goals of customer service, business growth, and increased efficiency.

“Most people who choose to work in healthcare do so because they want to make a difference in people’s lives, and we’re trying to create a place where they can do that,” said Charmel. “Our employees have a tremendous amount of pride in what we’ve created because they have a lot of ownership in it. What we do requires a lot of effort—and I’ll admit working here isn’t for everybody—but the employees who are attracted to us tend to be like-minded.”

Indeed, staff turnover is well below the regional average, and Griffin’s recent registered nurse vacancy was only 3.2%, half the nationwide vacancy rate of 6%. Griffin has been named one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the past five consecutive years, something no other hospital has achieved. Other accolades include recognition by Modern Maturity magazine as one of 15 Hospitals with Heart nationwide, and the selection by Solucient in 2004 as one of the 100 most improved hospitals in the country.

In the same survey where people once said they would avoid the hospital, Griffin ranks as the most improved hospital in its region and has the highest quality of care rating. In a separate survey of recently discharged patients, Griffin received a 98% satisfaction rating, up from 83% 10 years ago. Griffin’s patient admissions increased by nearly 26% over the most recently measured four-year period, compared to the national average of 8% to 10 %, making it one of the fastest growing hospitals in Connecticut.

For his part, Charmel has been through the bad, the very bad, and now the very good at Griffin Hospital. His long history with Griffin helps him see its success today from a unique perspective.

“Our success really is a testament to our culture,” he said. “Looking back, it’s clear that we never could have accomplished this without engaging our employees and getting them involved in the process. I think that’s what distinguishes the approach I’ve taken as a leader here.”