Seattle Children’s wins recognition for nursing excellence

Seattle Children’s Hospital has been awared “Magnet” status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center is a division of the American Nurses Association that provides credentialing services for nurses and nursing specialties.

According to the ANCC

“ANCC Magnet Recognition Program recognizes healthcare organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and professionalism in nursing practice. The program also provides a vehicle for disseminating best practices and strategies among nursing systems. The ANCC Magnet Recognition Program is the gold standard for nursing excellence.”

Here’s the press release from Seattle Children’s Hospital:

Seattle Children’s Hospital Awarded Highest Recognition for Nursing Excellence

Second hospital in Washington state and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest granted Magnet status

SEATTLE: September 16, 2008 –The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has awarded Magnet status to Seattle Children’s Hospital in recognition for its nursing excellence.  Less than four percent of hospitals in the United States have qualified for Magnet status and Seattle Children’s Hospital is the first pediatric hospital in the Pacific Northwest to achieve this distinction.

“This is a mark of excellence not only for our nursing program, but the entire hospital,” said Dr. Thomas Hansen, CEO at Children’s. “We are honored to receive this external recognition of the exceptional quality of our nurses – something our patients and their families have known for years.”

“Considered the gold standard of nursing care, Magnet status is the most prestigious honor a hospital’s nursing staff can achieve,” said Susan Heath, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Children’s and assistant dean of clinical-nursing practice at the University of Washington, School of Nursing. “Magnet designation affirms that Children’s nurses are among the best in the country; exceeding professional standards in nursing education, research, leadership and patient care.”

Designation was awarded after a rigorous evaluation process that began in February 2005 and included submission of an eight-volume, 30-pound application document, multiple stages of review and a week-long on-site appraisal conducted by the Magnet Recognition Program. During the on-site visit, appraisers evaluated over 150 nursing criteria and interviewed patients, nurses, doctors, executive administrators, and community members.

According to the ANCC, research indicates that Magnet hospitals produce better patient outcomes than other hospitals.  Independent research also shows that Magnet hospitals consistently outperform their peers in recruiting and retaining nurses, resulting in increased stability in patient care throughout those hospitals. As a result, Magnet hospitals benefit from reduced costs due to low turnover.

“Anytime we can recruit the best nurses in the nation while retaining the outstanding nurses we have, our patients and families benefit,” said Hansen.

The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed by the ANCC from research conducted in 1983 that identified 14 characteristics in organizations best able to recruit and retain nurses during the nursing shortages.  These characteristics became the ANCC Forces of Magnetism that provide the conceptual framework for the Magnet appraisal process. Hospitals must demonstrate these forces to earn and retain Magnet status:  quality of nursing leadership, organizational structure, management style, personnel policies and programs, professional models of care, quality of care, quality improvement, consultation and resources, autonomy, community and the healthcare organization, nurses as teachers, image of nursing, interdisciplinary relationships, and professional development.

Children’s joins the University of Washington Medical Center as the only Magnet recognized hospitals in the state of Washington.

For audio clips of Susan Heath, Thomas Hansen an David Fisher please visit: d-s287515b4e8442b59

Category: Health-care Policy, Hospital News