Parkview Health’s hospitals have joined the ranks of the nation’s most elite by achieving Magnet® recognition across the region. Magnet designation is granted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program®, which ensures that rigorous standards for nursing excellence are met.

“Achieving Magnet recognition reinforces the culture of excellence that is the hallmark of our mission in northeast Indiana,” said Mike Packnett, president and CEO, Parkview Health. “It is objective proof of our commitment to provide the very best patient-centered care. This is a direct reflection of not only Parkview’s amazing nurses, but our physicians and the 11,000 other co-workers, from all hospitals and facilities, who put the patient first every day.”

To achieve Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy review process that demands widespread participation from care providers and co-workers at each hospital. The process includes an electronic application, written patient care documentation, on-site visits to each hospital and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition.

Of the more than 6,300 hospitals in the United States, only 467 – or 7 percent – have achieved Magnet recognition. Parkview’s seven hospitals are among only 14 others in the state of Indiana.

“Magnet recognition offers our community a distinguished standard for measuring quality of care,” said Judy Boerger, chief nursing executive, Parkview Health. “At Parkview, we don’t just talk about compassionate and expert care, we define it through every interaction. We empower our nursing teams to do what is best for patients, we inspire one another to grow personally and professionally, and – most importantly – we put patients and their families at the center of everything we do.”

According to the ANCC, Magnet designation indicates an organization in which nurses can flourish as professionals. These select entities place an emphasis on providing their nursing teams with the professional autonomy to make clinical decisions at patient bedsides. They also involve nurses in decisions regarding the patient care environment, as well as enable more interdisciplinary collaborations with other team members.

“On a daily basis, our nurses demonstrate their commitment to working together to consistently provide the highest quality care,” Boerger added. “Their world-class teamwork creates not only an excellent place to receive care, but an amazing place to work.”

Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations 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 rates.
• Higher job satisfaction among nurses.
• Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave their positions.

The Magnet Recognition Program was established in 1993. Designation is valid for four years, after which recipients must undergo a renewal process.