Saint Luke’s Hospital Receives Highest Nursing Credential with Prestigious Magnet® Recognition…Again

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 21, 2014) —  Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City has again attained Magnet® Recognition as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®.  This voluntary credentialing program for hospital 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 reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care for this community,’ said Debbie White, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City’s Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “To earn Magnet recognition was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses. Our achievement of this credential for a third time underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drives our entire nursing staff to strive harder each day to meet the healthcare needs of the people we serve.”

 

Magnet recognition has become the gold standard for nursing excellence and is taken into consideration when the public judges healthcare organizations.  In fact, U.S. News & World Report’s annual showcase of “America’s Best Hospitals” includes Magnet recognition in its ranking criteria for quality inpatient care.

 

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 to thoroughly assess the applicant will occur. 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  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 recognition has been shown to provide specific benefits to hospitals and their communities, such as:

• Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help, and receipt of discharge information

• Lower risk of 30 day mortality and lower failure to rescue

• Higher job satisfaction among nurses and

• Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave position

 

“We’re a better institution because of the Magnet recognition we have achieved,” said Julie Quirin, Saint Luke’s Hospital Chief Executive Officer.  “It has raised the bar for patient care and inspired every member of the Saint Luke’s team to achieve excellence every day. It is this commitment to providing our community with the highest quality care that helped us become a Magnet facility and it is why we continue to serve as a Magnet hospital today.”

 

Being recognized as a Magnet facility for the third time is a great achievement for Saint Luke’s Hospital, as it continues to proudly belong to the Magnet community – a select group of 401 healthcare organizations out of nearly 6,000 U.S. healthcare organizations.  Saint Luke’s Hospital was originally designated a Magnet hospital in 2004 and received its second designation in 2009.  Hospitals must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality.

 

(Note: Please see http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet/FindaMagnetFacility for the current number of Magnet-recognized organizations as it changes frequently.)

 

About Saint Luke’s Health System

Saint Luke’s Health System consists of 10 area hospitals and several primary and specialty care practices, and provides a range of inpatient, outpatient, and home care services. Founded as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, our mission includes a commitment to the highest levels of excellence in health care and the advancement of medical research and education. The health system is an aligned organization in which the physicians and hospitals assume responsibility for enhancing the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people in the metropolitan Kansas City area and the surrounding region.

 

About the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®

The Magnet Recognition Program® administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world, recognizes healthcare organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and professionalism in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark for measuring quality of care. For more information about the Magnet Recognition Program and current statistics, visit www.nursescredentialing.org/magnet.