On Monday September 14, 2020, the American Nurses Credentialing Center
(ANCC) notified Frederick Health of our first Magnet® designation!
Magnet Program Recognition® is considered the highest and most prestigious
distinction a health care organization can achieve for nursing practice
and quality patient care. The Magnet® award recognizes and validates
excellence in nursing both for the quality of care and the support for
the health of their community. This designation provides patients with
a benchmark for the quality of care they can expect.
We began this journey to Magnet many years ago and effectively implemented
the Magnet® components as part of our nursing framework and collaborative
culture. Since last year, a team submitted nearly 3,500 pages of narratives
and supporting documentation to meet and exceed application requirements
and hosted a successful virtual site visit from a team of Magnet®
Appraisers. During the site visit, the Appraiser team complemented Frederick
Health on our collaborative relationships between nursing and providers,
ancillary services, and all members of the healthcare team. They remarked
that Emma Smith would be proud and felt our vision of superb service throughout
their many unit tours and interview sessions. We were fortunate to have
the support from the community, Board, Senior Leadership, and an amazing
team of nursing leadership and energetic Magnet Ambassadors to continually
support this journey.
ANCC hosted this notification call in conjunction with our staff from across
the organization and board representatives. Additionally, the Commission
on Magnet® (COM) recognized our organization with three exemplars
during the call. Exemplars are examples of best practices determined by
the COM and further demonstrates how Frederick Health excels in the areas
of Extravasations, Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections, and
Telehealth from the Chronic Care Management Program.
Frederick Health now has the distinction of being one of only 9 acute care
hospitals in the state of Maryland, placing our organization in the top
9% of 6,000 hospitals nationwide. Thanks to your extraordinary efforts
for patient care and our collaborative team environment, we were able
to receive this validation recognizing our on-going commitment to excellence.
The Magnet® designation is granted every four years to only those organizations
that demonstrate sustained superiority in nursing care. We are resolved
to deliver the highest level of care and will be looking for examples
of collaboration, innovation, and outcome focused stories to bring forward
in the next application cycle.
Congratulations to our team for achieving Magnet® recognition!
- Higher patient satisfaction
- Better patient outcomes
- Increased nurse satisfaction
- Improved safety and quality