Tampa VA Hospital Awarded Magnet Prize

Geeg · Dec 7, 2003

I am very skeptical about the Magnet designation. It seems very similar to the JCAHO charade where the hospital makes sure the paperwork is in order and that everyone is on their best behavior during the inspection.

Trauma Columnist · Dec 7, 2003

I actually visited this VA facilty in Sept and they are wonderful! They have a gorgeous new facility to deal with disabled vets being returned from overseas and it is so bright and beautiful! We went there for their Patient Safety Center and were very favorably impressed by their director.

Agnus · Dec 11, 2003

Originally posted by traumaRUs
I actually visited this VA facilty in Sept and they are wonderful! They have a gorgeous new facility to deal with disabled vets being returned from overseas and it is so bright and beautiful! We went there for their Patient Safety Center and were very favorably impressed by their director.

Shiney new building does not make it a good hospital. Too often we get blinded by glitz.

Hope this is not all there is to it.

Agnus · Dec 11, 2003

Obviously I too am a skeptic. There is a horrible hospital (ther worst for treatment of nurses) here that is advertising that they are striving for magnet status.

What exactly are the requirements?

-jt · Dec 11, 2003

Its nothing like JCHAO inspections. The application process takes about 2 years to go through. They cant fake it. Its all about how well the facility values and respects its nursing staff and how they put that culture into practice. There are 14 specfic criteria they have to meet. They either walk the walk or they dont. Two facilities have already lost their Magnet status. The Magnet evaluation committee is made up of nurses - including those who work as staff nurses. The facility's staff nurse input is required and encouraged in the evaluations too. You can even comment annonymously on the Magnet website about whether you feel your facility deserves the award at the Magnet or not and why. They need your feedback. Heres a timely article on the subject -

New York State Nurses Association

REPORT: December 2003

Magnet Recognition Program Attracts New Attention

by Nancy Webber

Has your hospital or nursing home applied to become a "Magnet?" If not, there is a growing chance that it will. And if it does, would you support the application?

Sponsored by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Program has been around since 1994. In recent years, however, its popularity has grown among healthcare facilities that are seeking to establish a reputation for providing quality nursing care. In 2001-2002, the ANCC received 132 applications, a sizable jump from 32 applications during the previous two-year period. As of October 2003, there were 87 Magnet facilities in the U.S.

As its name implies, the Magnet Program is designed to recognize facilities that attract and retain nurses. As the nursing shortage deepens, hospitals see "Magnet" status as a marketing tool to improve their image and their competitive edge in hiring nursing staff.

Cecilia Mulvey, past NYSNA president and current president of the ANCC, told a group of nurses at NYSNA's Convention that applying for the Magnet program should encourage hospitals to adopt management practices that support nurses.

"Among other things, facilities are evaluated for involving staff nurses in decision making, the quality of patient care, and management style," she said. Applicants must agree to participate in a quality indicator project, providing data on staff mix, nursing care hours per patient day, patient outcomes, and patient/nurse satisfaction.

Site visit is part of application process.

To achieve Magnet status, an organization must submit a detailed application, host a site visit, and pay a fee. Site visits usually last two days, and typically include opportunities for ANCC appraisers to interact with patients, staff nurses, nurses serving in leadership positions, and members of the administrative and medical staff. After the site visit, appraisers submit a final report to the ANCC Commission on Magnet Recognition, which decides whether or not to bestow Magnet recognition.

The commission includes a staff nurse, a nurse administrator from a Magnet facility, an advanced practice nurse, a consumer, a patient care manager, and representatives from the American Academy of Nursing, the ANA Congress on Nursing Practice, and the American Organization of Nurse Executives. To maintain the integrity of the program, commission members are not told the names of the facilities they are reviewing, Mulvey said.

There are 26 facilities currently under consideration for Magnet recognition, according to the ANCC Web site. Three are in New York: Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, Huntington Hospital on Long Island, and Staten Island University Hospital. New York hospitals that have already received Magnet recognition include North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, and St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse.

The Program seeks feedback from staff nurses.

Nurses who heard the presentation at Convention were concerned that hospitals would cover up deficiencies in their nursing services in order to get Magnet recognition. "I'm worried about hospitals 'fudging' like they do before JCAHO site visits," one nurse said. "The staffing levels go up for the visit and then drop back afterward."

Mulvey stressed that the ANCC needs feedback from nurses in order to make an informed decision at a specific facility. She added that two facilities have lost their Magnet designation. "No one will get Magnet recognition - or keep it - if they are making changes in their nursing staff for the wrong reasons," she said.

There is a 60-day comment period after the application is filed, but Mulvey said the Magnet program wants to hear from staff nurses at any time. An on-line survey is available at: http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/survey.html

Labor relations also figure into the Magnet review process. In the five years preceding application, the applicant must not have committed an unfair labor practice as determined in a fully and finally adjudicated arbitration proceeding or before the National Labor Relations Board. If there is an unfair labor grievance pending, then the application process is halted until the pending grievance has been resolved or adjudicated. An applicant must wait five years following the finding of an unfair labor practice to apply for Magnet designation.

NYSNA has filed comments opposing the Magnet designation of Staten Island University Hospital because of its poor record in labor relations and treatment of its nurses(see related story).

Mulvey was adamant about the program's commitment to nurses and nursing care. "We're not going to let you down," she said.

Profile of Magnet Acute Care Facilities:

98% are affiliated with schools of nursing

RNs make up 70% of the nursing care skill mix

26% of direct-care RNs are certified

Average of 10.3 nursing care hours per patient day (recent studies show non-Magnet average of 7.8 nursing care hours per patient day)

Average staff vacancy rate of 8.3% (compared to national average of over 12%)

91% of nursing staff attend at least one CE program per year http://www.nysna.org/departments/communications/publications/report/2003/dec/magnet.htm

Related Story: NYSNA Contends that Staten Island University Hospital Isn't Ready for Magnet Status!http://www.nysna.org/departments/communications/publications/report/2003/dec/magnet2.htm

For more about the Magnet program, see: http://www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet/Scherer.html

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