ATLANTA – (March 18, 2009) – Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta has been recognized for the fourth consecutive time for excellence in nursing services with the Magnet Recognition. Designated by the American Nursing Credentialing Center, an affiliate of the American Nursing Association, Magnet is considered the gold standard of nursing care. Saint Joseph’s was the third hospital in the world to receive this honor in 1995, the first hospital in Georgia and remains the only hospital in Atlanta to earn Magnet recognition. Only one other hospital worldwide has been redesignated four consecutive times.
“This fourth designation speaks to the near 20 year commitment Saint Joseph’s has to its nurses and nursing services,” says Kim Sharkey, chief nursing officer at Saint Joseph’s. “Each redesignation is more rigorous than the last and requires untold dedication to 14 ‘forces’ containing more than 160 criteria, continuous program development and documentation, shared governance for patient care and support from the entire nursing and administrative staffs.”
Magnet redesignation occurs every four years. There are currently 321 hospitals in 43 states and the District of Columbia, and two international sites, which have achieved a Magnet level of nursing services.
The Magnet program was developed to recognize hospitals where nursing delivers excellent patient outcomes, where nurses have a high level of job satisfaction, and where there is a low staff nurse turnover rate and appropriate grievance resolution. Magnet hospitals also support nursing involvement in data collection and decision-making in patient care delivery. Magnet nursing leaders value staff nurses, involve them in shaping research-based nursing practice, and encourage and reward them for advancing in nursing practice. Magnet hospitals encourage open communication between nurses and other members of the health care team, and an appropriate personnel mix to attain the best patient outcomes and staff work environment.
“There is a strong correlation between good patient outcomes and good nursing care,” says Sharkey. “Saint Joseph’s nurses are involved in creating best care practices based on evidence-based practice and truly live the mission of caring for each patient’s mind, body and spirit.”
Since 2005, Saint Joseph’s established The Kenneth E. Thomas Center for Nursing Excellence at Saint Joseph’s and the Keough Nursing Research Center to help identify new ways to incorporate technology that enhance learning; focus on research to determine patient outcomes and satisfaction; support internal, external and collaborative research for nurses at the bedside; conduct research throughout the health system and asses the competencies and environments needed to foster nursing leadership.
“Nurses at the bedside have a unique perspective that benefits the entire team of caregivers, including physicians. Physician support at Saint Joseph’s is unparalled,” says Sharkey. Saint Joseph’s also was named recently as one of the ‘Top 100 Hospitals to Work For” by Nursing Professional Magazine. During a survey on job satisfaction to 25,000 randomly selected hospital nurses, Nursing Professionals found that Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta possessed outstanding qualities including flexible working arrangements for nurses, a family-friendly work environment and promoted equality and diversity among its workforce.
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