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Tech Valley News
St. Peter’s Earns Nursing’s Highest Honor
St. Peter’s Hospital for the second time has earned the nation's most prestigious honor for nursing achievement and excellence -- designation as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Considered the "gold standard" for nursing care in hospitals, Magnet status is held by only 350 institutions (6.2 percent of all hospitals) nationwide. St. Peter's first received Magnet status in 2005 and, this year, nursing leaders and staff submitted an extremely detailed self-study of nursing accomplishments to the ANCC before a team of appraisers visited St. Peter's in October.
St. Peter's is the first hospital in the region to be re-designated under new, tougher standards required by the ANCC.
"This is a tremendous honor for the nurses and nurse leaders of St. Peter's Hospital," said Steven P. Boyle, president, CEO of St. Peter’s Health Care Services. "I want to thank Kathy Brodbeck, our vice president for operations, and her team for helping St. Peter's achieve Magnet designation for the second time."
"Magnet designation confirms what our patients tell us every day: that the nurses at St. Peter's provide exceptional and compassionate care," said Kathleen Brodbeck, RN, MS, NEA-BC. "Our mission is to provide the best care possible to every person in every place, every time. Achieving Magnet status for a second time shows that St. Peter's and its nurses have been successful in consistently providing high-quality care."
In a conference call this morning to announce St. Peter's re-designation, the director of the Magnet Recognition Program, Karen Drenkard, praised the work of St. Peter's and its nurses.
"You've done a tremendous job," Drenkard said, noting that the decision was unanimous among the Magnet officials who voted on St. Peter's application. "The community needs you and respects you."
While St. Peter's could have applied for re-designation on less-stringent standards, Brodbeck said the nurses at St. Peter's sought their second accreditation based on the latest and tougher standards established by the ANCC and the Magnet program.
A subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), the ANCC Magnet program recognizes hospitals that have:
- Higher job satisfaction among Registered Nurses;
- Enhanced nurse-physician collaboration;
- Increased patient/family satisfaction;
- Reduced complaints from family members;
- High quality of nursing care;
- Investment in education for professional development;
- Decreased vacancy and nurse turnover rates;
- Ability to attract high-quality physicians; and,
- Positive, collaborative, engaging work environment for all employees.
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