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Magnet Designation Recognizes Quality Care
William D. PetasnickPresident and CEO, Froedtert Hospital
In fall 2006, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) notified us that Froedtert Hospital had earned the ANCC’s highest recognition: designation as a Magnet hospital. The Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes quality patient care and nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive. Fewer than 5 percent of hospitals in the country achieve this honor.
Our entire staff, especially our more than 1,400 nurses, worked incredibly hard to demonstrate that Froedtert Hospital meets this gold standard in nursing.
The real winners are our patients, for whom nurses often define the healthcare experience. Last year alone, our nurses cared for patients during more than 23,617 inpatient visits and more than 47,000 emergency visits. Nurses are critical to the success of every patient interaction.
Every year, I receive scores of letters from people who write to tell me about the top notch nurses who cared for them. I often hear great stories about nurses who go above and beyond their normal duties to deliver world class service. This summer, a nurse from our Spinal Cord Injury Center took her patients to the hospital roof so they could enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks. Nurses in an intensive care unit pooled their money to give parents of one of their patients a 28th anniversary dinner – and a break from the hospital. These examples demonstrate our nurses’ commitment to relationship-based care.
Our nurses are a key source of ideas and often act as the bridge that allows a good idea or new applications to become an innovation or advancement at the bedside. Froedtert nurses have been involved in more than 60 Six Sigma teams including managing diabetes, reducing falls, improving medication turn around time and simplifying discharge processes. When we took our computerized medication administration program to the bedside, a nurse-led team made the innovation work in the patient setting.
We work hard to recruit and retain the best and brightest nurses and have achieved vacancy and turnover rates that are well below the national average. Recruiting and retaining nurses is good for morale and great for our patients, who can always expect a top notch nurse at the bedside.
I hope you will join me in celebrating the nurses who earned this prestigious recognition.
Source: Froedtert Today Date: March 2007 |