PEEKSKILL, NEW YORK – On February 2, 2024, Sun River Health, a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island, was awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International, the global leader in advancing person-centered health care solutions. The highest level of certification offered by Planetree International, Gold Certification recognizes an organization’s achievement and innovation in the delivery of person-centered care. Sun River Health is the first and only Federally Qualified Health Center in the world to earn this prestigious award.

“Sun River Health’s achievement of Gold Certification from Planetree International shows what can be accomplished when an organization makes delivering compassionate, person-centered health care its top priority,” said Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, Sun River Health CEO. “I want to thank our incredible team for working so hard to ensure we achieved this Gold Certification, and who I know will build on this achievement to take delivering excellent, person-centered health care to even greater heights.”

“Planetree Certification is distinctive in its focus on person-centered care, defined as a model of care delivery in which clinicians partner with patients and families to identify and satisfy the full range of patient needs and preferences,” said Amanda Falick Ascher, MD, Sun River Health Chief Medical Officer. “I am so proud of our dedicated clinical team who continue to keep the delivery of person-centered care at the heart of all they do.”

“This award is given based on a variety of factors, including performance improvement on traditional quality indicators, review of policy documents, and how patients and staff assess the organization’s person-centered culture,” said Katherine Brieger, Executive Director of the Sun River Health Planetree Institute. “We were awarded Gold Certification after Planetree International reviewed all our major systems to assure that patients were involved in every aspect of their care, including a series of focus groups with patients and their loved ones as well as staff from various departments. Thanks to our incredible staff and dedicated Planetree Institute team who conveyed our genuine culture of person-centered care.”

Sun River Health has been a Planetree International affiliate since 1996 and established the Sun River Health Planetree Institute in 2012 to provide state-of-the-art training to staff on delivering compassionate and personalized care. In 2020, Sun River Health was awarded Silver Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International.