Magnet Status

=Images= | Magnet StatusOSF Saint Anthony Staff Join An Elite Group
Magnet Status Recognizes Outstanding Patient Care And Professional Growth

  OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center is the first medical center in Rockford to earn the prestigious Magnet designation. Magnet status is the highest recognition for nursing excellence available in the United States.

Magnet designation is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. Of more than 6,400 hospitals in the United States, fewer than 150 elite medical centers have earned Magnet status. OSF Saint Anthony joins facilities including Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai and OSF Saint Francis as recipients of Magnet designation.

"This is a great day for OSF Saint Anthony and the Rock River Valley," said Paula Carynski, RN, MS, assistant administrator for patient care services and chief nursing officer. "Magnet status is an acknowledgement of the superb care that people receive at OSF Saint Anthony, as well as the dedication and expertise of our entire staff. Magnet designation also is an accurate reflection of the quality of the work and care environment at OSF Saint Anthony."

Magnet status is awarded to elite medical centers that meet stringent quantitative and qualitative standards and criteria that define the highest quality of nursing practice and patient care. Becoming a Magnet medical center means the organization must meet more than 65 criteria developed by the ANCC.

"Magnet status is another indication OSF Saint Anthony is a leader in healthcare and further establishes Rockford as a regional center for outstanding medical services," said David Schertz, OSF Saint Anthony administrator and CEO.

Magnet medical centers feature a high degree of collaboration among caregivers, provide nurses with greater roles in patient care and decision making processes, and reward nurses who pursue professional and personal growth. Patients benefit through improved outcomes, increased satisfaction with their care, shorter stays, higher nurse-to-patient ratios and lower mortality rates.

The Magnet journey of OSF Saint Anthony began more than three years ago and culminated with a visit from Magnet site appraisers on March 8, 9 and 10, 2005. Paula Christensen, RN, PhD, Magnet project coordinator, led the effort to earn Magnet designation. Her work included preparing the volumes of documentation which were scrutinized by the ANCC prior to the site visit.

"I know the nurses and the other staff members who participated in meetings with the Magnet appraisers impressed them with our commitment to excellence and dedication to the OSF Saint Anthony Mission 'to serve persons with the greatest care and love,'" said Christensen. "This was a monumental challenge that literally hundreds of talented and enthusiastic nurses and others accepted without hesitation. They are the reason OSF Saint Anthony is a Magnet medical center."

Magnet Status Facts And Figures

  • Magnet is a designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) that recognizes excellence in nursing practice and quality patient care. The Magnet Recognition Program® began in 1994 as a response to the impending nursing shortage. ANCC recognizes a culture that promotes excellence, improves the work environment and enhances the quality of patient care.
  • There are more than 6,400 hospitals in the United States and only 150, about two percent, have earned Magnet status. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center is the first hospital in Rockford and the seventh in Illinois to receive this prestigious award. The other Magnet facilities in Illinois are Rush University Medical Center and Children's Medical Center in Chicago; Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva; Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn; and OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Methodist Medical Center in Peoria.
  • Magnet recognition gives people confidence in the quality of care we deliver at OSF Saint Anthony. Research shows that Magnet hospitals have lower patient mortality rates, shorter lengths of stay, higher patient satisfaction and higher nurse satisfaction. Many people have a choice of hospitals when they need hospitalization, and people in the Rock River Valley benefit from being able to choose a Magnet facility.

What Is Magnet?
The Magnet Recognition Program rewards excellence in:

• Nursing management, philosophy and practices.
• Adherence to standards for improving quality of patient care.
• Leadership of the nurse administrator in supporting professional practice and continued competence of nursing personnel.
• Understanding and respecting the cultural and ethnic diversity of patients, their significant others, and the care providers in the system.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center sets high standards for attaining and maintaining Magnet status. A Magnet-designated organization is one that:

• Develops, maintains and evaluates patient and staff data-collection systems and processes to support the practice of nursing and improving patient care.
• Develops, maintains and evaluates an environment that supports the professional nurse in the analyses of assessment data and in decisions to determine relevant diagnoses.
• Adherence to standards for improving quality of patient care.
• Develops, maintains and evaluates information processes that promote desired, patient-centered outcomes.
• Develops, maintains and evaluates organizational planning systems to facilitate the delivery of nursing care.
• Develops, maintains and evaluates organizational systems that support the implementation of the organizational plan.
• Evaluates the organizational plan and its progress in relation to the attainment of outcomes.
• Systematically evaluates the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice and nursing services administration.
• Has each person evaluate his or her performance based on professional practice standards, relevant statutes and regulations and organizational criteria.
• Has staff that acquires and maintains current knowledge in administrative practice.
• Fosters a professional environment.
• Has staff that make decisions based on ethical principles.
• Collaborate with nursing staff and at all levels, interdisciplinary teams, executive officers and others in the organization.
• Evaluates and administers the resources of organized nursing services.
• Supports research and integrates it into the delivery of nursing care and nursing administration.