AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center on Thursday said it attained the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet recognition for the fifth consecutive time — a testament to its continued dedication to ensuring high-quality nursing practice.
This credential is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice, and the gold standard for nursing excellence. It is a factor when the public judges health care organizations.
“To earn our first Magnet recognition was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses,” Katherine Birkenstock, chief nursing officer, AtlantiCare, said. “Our repeated achievement of this credential underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drive our entire team to strive every day to meet the health care needs of those we serve.”
“I’m incredibly proud of our AtlantiCare Nursing Team,” Lori Herndon, CEO and president, AtlantiCare, said. “This recognition demonstrates the significant, meaningful impact they have on care we provide within and well beyond the walls of our hospital.”
Only 608 out of more than 6,000 health care organizations in the U.S. hold Magnet status. ARMC is one of only 32 hospitals in New Jersey with this designation and one of only 35 that have achieved the recognition five times.
Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and their communities, including:
- Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help and receipt of discharge information;
- Higher job satisfaction among nurses.
The Magnet Model provides a framework for nursing practice, research and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC evaluates applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence.
The foundation of this model comprises 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.
To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. This process includes an electronic application, written patient care documentation, an on-site visit, and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition.
Health care organizations must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality. An organization reapplying for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence to demonstrate how staff members sustained and improved Magnet concepts, performance and quality over the four-year period since the organization received its most recent recognition.
“We’re a better organization today because of the Magnet recognition we first achieved 15 years ago,” Birkenstock said. “Magnet recognition raises the bar for patient care and inspires our team to attain excellence every day. To achieve this redesignation during the global pandemic is extraordinary. We congratulate our nursing team. We thank them and our entire team for their unwavering commitment to providing our community with compassionate, high-quality care that helped us become a Magnet-recognized organization.”
