St. Mary’s Hospital Receives Prestigious Magnet® Recognition . . . Again!
Contact: Steve Van Dinter, Regional Director of Media Relations & Public Affairs, SSM Health Care of Wisconsin, 608.258.5700 (o), 608.843.3862 (c)
St. Mary’s Hospital has again attained Magnet® recognition as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. This voluntary credentialing program for hospitals recognizes excellence in nursing. This credential is the highest honor an organization can receive for professional nursing practice.
“Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and a source of pride for our nurses who are committed to providing exceptional patient care,” said Joan Beglinger, St. Mary’s Vice President for Patient Care Services. “To earn Magnet recognition once is an accomplishment. Our achievement of this credential for the third time for an additional four years underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drive our entire staff to continuously improve and meet the needs of the people who entrust their care to us.”
ANCC identified St. Mary’s as exemplary in five areas: transformational leadership; structural empowerment; exemplary professional practice; new knowledge, innovations and improvements; and empirical outcomes. Specifically, St. Mary’s was highlighted for sustaining high patient satisfaction scores, empowering nursing staff, and strong partnerships in the community.
Magnet recognition has become the gold standard for nursing and one the public is encouraged to look for when choosing a hospital.
ANCC’S Rigorous Review Process
To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. The process begins with the submission of an electronic application, followed by written documentation demonstrating qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding patient care and outcomes. If scores from the written documentation fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit will occur to thoroughly assess the applicant. After this rigorous on-site review process, the Commission on Magnet Recognition will review the completed appraisal report and vote to determine whether Magnet recognition will be granted.
An organization seeking to reapply for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence of how Magnet concepts, performance, and quality were sustained and improved over the four-year period since the hospital received its most recent recognition.
In particular, the Magnet model is designed to provide a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC can assess applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence. The foundation of this model is composed of various elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership and coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.
Magnet recognized Nursing Organizations have been correlated with specific benefits to their hospitals and their communities, such as
- Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help, and receipt of discharge information;[i]
- Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue;[ii]
- Higher job satisfaction among nurses;[iii] and
- Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave position.[iv]
“We know we’re a better hospital today because of the Magnet recognition we achieved in 2002 and again four years ago,” said Beglinger. “It has raised the bar and continues to motivate us toward nursing excellence each and every day. It pushes us to continuously strive for exceptional patient care and in the end everyone benefits.”
Being recognized as a Magnet facility for the third time is a great achievement for St. Mary’s as it continues to proudly belong to the Magnet community—a select group of 391 healthcare organizations out of nearly 6,000 U.S. healthcare organizations.[v] St. Mary’s was initially designated a Magnet hospital in 2002. Hospitals must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality.
