Newswise — The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) today announced that Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has received its third Magnet designation, a status shared by only a select group across the country. This honor makes the hospital the first in New York State to achieve this third consecutive designation.

Accepted throughout the healthcare industry as the gold standard for nursing, the Magnet program recognizes healthcare institutions that epitomize outstanding quality and professionalism and adhere to and exceed national nursing standards. In recent years, the ANCC implemented even stricter designation criteria, making this year’s Magnet designation especially significant.

“This Magnet recognition highlights the extraordinary skill and compassion of our nursing staff and exemplifies the commitment of everyone at HSS to providing patients with an unsurpassed experience while in our care,” said Louis A. Shapiro, president and chief executive officer at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Increasingly extensive Magnet evaluations—performed every four years—assure that only hospitals providing the highest quality patient care, exhibiting nursing excellence and outperforming national standards can receive this designation.

“It is the extraordinary competence, commitment and caring of each and every nurse at Hospital for Special Surgery that result in best practices and outcomes and thus Magnet status,” said Stephanie Goldberg, MSN, R.N., NEA-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Hospital for Special Surgery. “I am proud of each and every nurse leader and member of our nursing staff for creating the collaborative environment where patients know they are receiving the highest quality care, delivered by the best qualified nurses in the country.”

Along with comprehensive outcomes statistics, hospitals must also exhibit commitment to professional education, caring relationships with patients and hospital staff, effective open self-governance and the practice of evidence-based nursing, in which care decisions are supported by research.

Hospital for Special Surgery was initially named a Magnet hospital in 2002 and was redesignated in 2007.

About Hospital for Special SurgeryFounded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No. 2 in rheumatology, No. 19 in neurology and No. 16 in geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report (2011-12), has received Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. From 2007 to 2011, HSS has been a recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award. A member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College, HSS provides orthopedic and rheumatologic patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. All Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College. The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at www.hss.edu.