Hackensack Meridian Health Once Again Achieves Magnet® Designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center

Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network, is pleased to announce that five of its hospitals have once again achieved Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The distinguished Magnet® Recognition Program® is recognized as the gold standard of nursing excellence, with just 9.86 percent of 6,093 hospitals in the United States receiving this designation.

“Our hospitals have proudly received this prestigious designation for more than 25 years, recognizing our nursing program as continually elevating patient care and serving as a model of care delivery, innovation and collaboration,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “This designation illustrates the extraordinary commitment and competence of our nursing team, who help to ensure we are able to live our mission of transforming health care each and every day.”

The ANCC 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: promoting quality in a setting that supports professional practice; identifying excellence in the delivery of nursing services to patients; and disseminating “best practices” in nursing services.

Hackensack Meridian is one of the most recognized health care networks in the country for nursing excellence with seven Magnet® designations from the ANCC. The five Hackensack Meridian hospitals to achieve this most recent designation include:

• Bayshore Medical Center - 2nd designation
• Jersey Shore University Medical Center - 6th designation
• Ocean University Medical Center - 6th designation
• Riverview Medical Center - 6th designation
• Southern Ocean Medical Center - 2nd designation

“It is no surprise that Hackensack Meridian has once again achieved the highest honor in nursing excellence,” said Theresa M. Brodrick, RN, Ph.D., NE-BC, executive vice president and network chief nurse executive, Hackensack Meridian Health. “I am incredibly proud of our nursing team and the high quality of care they provide to our patients. We remain committed to continuing our culture of excellence and innovation in nursing because we know how critical nurses are to the overall patient experience and clinical outcomes.”

Research demonstrates that Magnet® recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and their communities. This includes:

• 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

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, a virtual or 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.

In addition to the five hospitals recognized this year, Raritan Bay Medical Center/Old Bridge Medical Center will seek its 5th designation next year, and Hackensack University Medical Center will seek its 7th. Hackensack was the first hospital in New Jersey to earn this designation six times and the second in the country.

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.