ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE
is one
thing. Maintaining it is another. Now
CHRISTUS Hospital – St. Elizabeth
and St. Mary has done both. The
American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) has pegged it as a
Magnet hospital – again.
This second recognition reaffirms
what was said about CHRISTUS
Hospital four years ago: The nursing
staff remains the very example of
excellence in just about any way you
can measure it.
What makes aMagnet hospital?
“
When a hospital is given the Magnet
designation, you know it is meet-
ing very specific criteria,” says Lori
Martel, RN, interim unit director
of outpatient surgery at CHRISTUS
Hospital – St. Elizabeth.
A hospital has to prove that its
nurses are following best practices in
patient care. It also has to document
that patients are reaping the benefits
of those practices. The ANCC looks
at patient outcomes, reviews infec-
tion rates, asks patients about their
hospital stays, and looks for a nursing
staff that’s dedicated to learning more
about its profession.
Not many hospitals make the cut.
In fact, less than 7 percent of regis-
tered hospitals in this country have
achieved Magnet status. CHRISTUS
Hospital – St. Elizabeth and St. Mary
did it in 2007.
“
But that wasn’t the end of it,”
Martel says. “You have to re-earn the
credential every four years. You can’t
just rest on your laurels.”
Still among the best
In fall of 2011, CHRISTUS Hospital –
St. Elizabeth and St. Mary sent the
ANCC its evidence. The document was
2,000
pages long, says Martel.
“
It didn’t just outline what we will
do these next four years. It showed
what we already have done, and how it
affected patient outcomes,” she says.
Some examples:
Better pain control after spine and
other bone surgery.
Shorter hospital stays after hip
and knee replacement.
Significantly lower infection
rates – sometimes far below the
national average.
More patients enrolling in the
cardiac rehabilitation program.
Steady drop in pressure ulcers
among patients in intensive care.
The ANCC came to check out
the claims in March. Nurses were
randomly selected and asked ques-
tions. One of the questions: “Would
you want your family members to get
care here?” An evaluator told Martel
how impressed she was that everyone
said yes.
The word from the ANCC came
one day in June. The call was put on
speakerphone. When the staff heard
the hospital was again named a
Magnet, a celebration broke out.
“
I wholeheartedly believe it’s a
testimony to the power of our nurses
to affect bedside care,” Martel says.
“
Being part of this Magnet facil-
ity means our nurses ask so much
more of themselves than the national
average,” adds Tammy Price, RN,
BSN, CCRN, CHRISTUS Hospital – St.
Elizabeth & St. Mary. “We constantly
strive for improvement and positive
outcomes for our patients.”
Nurses make us a
‘
magnet’ for excellence
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