At 9 a.m. on September 16, Pennsylvania Hospital’s nursing team heard the words they’d been waiting for. “It is my absolute honor and privilege to officially notify you that the commission has unanimously voted to credential Pennsylvania Hospital as a Magnet organization,” said Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, DNP, NEA-BC, FAAN, chair of the Commission for the Magnet Recognition Program®, prompting whooping cheers and resounding claps to erupt in Zubrow Auditorium and across the hospital. The call — which coincidentally came on the one-year anniversary of Chief Nursing Officer Elizabeth Craig, DNP, RN, FACHE, joining the hospital — confirmed that after four years of diligent work, three days of site visits, and seven weeks of anticipation, PAH successfully earned the nation’s gold-standard designation for nursing excellence for the second time.
“This is a really special occasion in a very unusual time,” Craig said. “Words truly can’t express my gratitude for our clinical nurses, nurse managers, clinical nurse educators, nursing coordinators, directors — everybody. We couldn’t have achieved this without the relentless commitment of every member of the Pennsylvania Hospital team. The last several months have been challenging to say the least, and I’ve been in awe of everyone's ability to embrace change every day while advancing clinical practice at the same time.”
Only about nine percent of hospitals nationwide have earned Magnet designation, which was developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a way to recognize elite nursing cultures characterized by quality patient care, innovation, evidence-based practice, empowerment, and professionalism. Led by Florrie Vanek, MSN, RN, NE-BC, director of Nursing Professional Practice and the Magnet Program, PAH’s nursing team embarked on their second Magnet journey almost immediately after the hospital received its first recognition in 2016. This rigorous process began with the meticulous development of a document that laid out more than 70 unique examples of how clinical nurses and their interprofessional partners pursue excellence every day and improve patient outcomes.
PAH excelled in each of the four criteria areas — transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, and new knowledge, innovations, and improvements — and earned high praise for the expertly crafted document, which meant it was time to move onto the next stage: a site visit. Shortly before the July visit, PAH learned that it would be virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quickly preparing for dozens of interactive unit tours and video presentations was no easy feat, but with a bit of creativity and a lot of teamwork, everything came together seamlessly. The appraisers noted that Pennsy truly set the standard for virtual visits, remarking that they could feel the team’s camaraderie and the hospital’s familial atmosphere through their screens. “They said that they really felt like they were here with us, and we heard time and time again that they wished they could be part of our team,” Vanek said.
The appraisers complimented several of PAH’s innovative projects, noting that initiatives like using music intervention in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and aromatherapy among Behavioral Health patients were unlike anything they’d seen at other institutions. They also praised the professional development and education opportunities available for nursing staff. Above all, though, the Magnet team was extremely impressed by PAH’s interprofessional collaboration — so much so that they awarded a special exemplar recognition.
In their final report, the appraisers pointed to the COVID-19 Response Team co-led by Craig and chief medical officer Dan Feinberg, MD, as an example of this exemplar-worthy teamwork, noting that PAH’s redeployment efforts, comprehensive communication strategies, and support provided to staff aligned with multiple best practices and could serve as an effective blueprint for similar challenges in the future.
The appraisers also lauded PAH’s “strong collaborative” teams and their utilization of “creative and out of the box thinking towards ensuring care coordination,” pointing to examples like the TeamSTEPPS® training that taught Women’s Health Division staff how to prevent adverse events from reaching patients, the de-escalation programs developed by the nursing and Behavioral Health teams, and the interprofessional makeup of teams like the Surgical Liaison Program and Patient Progression Task Force.
“I’m very proud that we were able to illustrate the value we place on interprofessional collaboration. The exemplar that we received really speaks to how hard we work to break down silos and deliver coordinated care,” Vanek said. “Plus, the fact that we achieved this success after leadership transitions and in the middle of a global pandemic speaks to the incredible resilience of our nursing team and partners.”
Congratulations to everyone who played a part in this outstanding achievement — and keep up the momentum for Magnet journey 3.0!