Newswise — Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center received Magnet® recognition for the sixth time by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC). Hackensack University Medical Center is the first hospital in New Jersey to earn this designation six times and the second hospital in the country.  Magnet® recognition is the highest national honor for nursing excellence.

“Congratulations to the entire team for their hard work and dedication to the patients, colleagues and families who entrust us with their care. Because of that dedication, we are proud to be the first hospital in New Jersey to receive a sixth Magnet® designation,” said Dianne Aroh, executive vice president, chief clinical and patient care officer, Hackensack University Medical Center.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® Recognition Program® distinguishes health care organizations that meet arduous standards for nursing excellence. The program focuses on advancing three goals within each Magnet® organization:

  1. Promoting quality in a setting that supports professional practice.
  2. Identifying excellence in the delivery of nursing services to patients.
  3. Disseminating “best practices” in nursing services.

“We are proud to be recognized with a sixth Magnet® designation at Hackensack University Medical Center,” said Mark Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and executive vice president, Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health. “We are committed to creating a culture of excellence and innovation in nursing because we know how critical nurses are to the overall patient experience and clinical outcomes.”

Hackensack Meridian Health boasts six other hospitals with Magnet® designations: 

Bayshore Medical Center

Jersey Shore University Medical Center

Ocean Medical Center

Raritan Bay Medical Center

Riverview Medical Center

Southern Ocean Medical Center

 

The Magnet® program is recognized as the gold standard of nursing excellence. Currently, only 492 of the more than 6,000 U.S. health care organizations have received the credential.

Research demonstrates that Magnet® recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and their communities, such as:

Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help and receipt of discharge information

  • Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue rates
  • Higher job satisfaction among nurses
  • Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave their positions
  • Magnet® recognition is the gold standard for nursing excellence and is a factor when the public judges health care organizations. U.S. News & World Report’s annual showcase of “America’s Best Hospitals” includes Magnet® recognition in its ranking criteria for quality of inpatient care

To achieve Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and team members. This process includes an electronic application, a written document, an on-site visit, and a review by the Commission on Magnet® Recognition.

Health care organizations reapply for Magnet® recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet® concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality. An organization reapplying for Magnet® recognition must provide documented evidence to demonstrate how team members sustained and improved Magnet® concepts, performance and quality over the four-year period since the organization received its most recent recognition.

About ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program

The Magnet Recognition Program — administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world — identifies health care organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and professionalism in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark for measuring quality of care. For more information about the Magnet Recognition Program and current statistics, visit www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet.

About Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center

Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county’s first hospital, it is now part of one of the largest networks in the state comprised of 33,000 team members and more than 6,500 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center was listed as one of the top two hospitals in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-19 Best Hospital rankings. It was also named one of the top five New York Metro Area hospitals. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker’s Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2018. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 25 Gold Seals of Approval™ by The Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to THE NORTHERN TRUST PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children’s Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.