Nurses Achieve Magnet Status for Hunterdon Healthcare System
Published September 19, 2008
Nurses react to the news that Hunterdon Healthcare System achieved magnet recognition for excellence in nursing care. Pictured left to right: Linda Rusch, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Patricia Steingall, RN Director of Patient Care Services, Mary Jo Loughlin, RN, BSN, Director of Surgical Care Unit, Donna Cole, RN, Ph.D, Director of Surgical Services and Kathleen Perez, RN, Nursing Administrator Supervisor.
At 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Over 100 Hunterdon Healthcare System employees gathered awaiting an historic phone call from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) – this phone call announced that Hunterdon Healthcare System has achieved Magnet designation. This prestigious award recognizes hospitals for excellence in nursing care. Only a select group of hospitals in the country achieve this honor. In fact, only 5.1% of all health care organizations in the United States have achieved Magnet status. Hunterdon Healthcare System is among an elite group of hospitals to achieve Magnet recognition including University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
The Magnet Recognition program, established by the ANCC in 1993, recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate excellence in nursing practice and adherence to national standards for the organization and delivery of nursing services. Magnet criteria go beyond the standard measures of nursing skill levels, training and performance to examine how hospitals strive to maintain high quality nursing leadership, collaborative nurse and physician relationships, devotion to continuous quality improvement and opportunities for professional development.
To achieve Magnet status, a hospital must undergo a rigorous review process. Nurses and staff worked diligently to prepare a 2,039 page document that provided evidence of excellence nursing practices. Upon review and an excellent rating, the American Nurses Credentialing Center visited Hunterdon Medical Center for three days to validate the document is lived out and practiced throughout Hunterdon Healthcare System.
“Achieving Magnet status means that Hunterdon Healthcare System has created an environment that supports nursing practice and focuses on professional autonomy, decision making at the bedside, nursing involvement in the nursing work environment, professional education, career development and nursing leadership,” explained Linda Rusch, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services at Hunterdon Medical Center. Rusch added, “The high quality of nursing care required to earn Magnet status has been associated with direct benefits to patients including decreased length of stay, decreased risk of falls, reduced medication errors and lower infection rates. Quantitative evidence indicates that Hunterdon Medical Center has improved nurse to patient ratios and patient satisfaction is higher than in non-magnet hospitals.”
Achieving Magnet status honors the excellence of nursing through out Hunterdon Healthcare System and the importance of collaboration among all departments. Rusch added, “We are so proud of this accomplishment. It provides verification of the exceptional care our nurses provide our community.”