title: Holistic acute care units: partnerships to meet the needs of the chronically ill and their families.
abstract: The traditional acute care health care environment does not meet the needs of chronically ill patients and their families. The classic paternalistic approach encourages dependence on the health care team. This report reviews several innovative types of patient care delivery models, including patient-focused care, family-centered care, cooperative care, and Program Planetree. The core concepts of these various models are described and compared. Related research is presented. A synthesis of these existing models to meet the needs of chronically ill medical patients holistically is proposed. The implementation of the holistic model with chronically ill patients and their families is depicted.
authors.affiliation: Orlando Regional Healthcare System, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Byers
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005192:Family Health; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D010358:Patient Participation; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*