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3 Florida Hospitals Earn Third ANCC Magnet Designations

Nurse talking with patient in doctors office

UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Children's Hospital have been designated Magnet hospitals for a third time by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, according to separate news releases.

Magnet status is nursing?s most prestigious national distinction for excellence. There are 18 Florida hospitals among 397 worldwide that have achieved the designation, according to the ANCC website.

Among elite Magnet group

UF Health Shands, Holy Cross and Miami Children's are among 71 hospitals in the world that are three-time Magnet recipients.

?Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to this community,? Margaret ?Meg? Scheaffel, RN, BSN, MBA-MHA, vice president/CNO at Holy Cross, said in a news release. ?To earn Magnet recognition once was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses. Our achievement of this credential for an additional four years underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drives our entire staff to strive harder each day to meet the healthcare needs of the people we serve.?

To achieve the initial Magnet designation, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. The process begins with the submission of an electronic application, followed by written documentation demonstrating qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding patient care and outcomes. If scores from the written documentation fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit will occur to thoroughly assess the applicant. After this rigorous onsite review process, the Commission on Magnet will review the completed appraisal report and vote to determine whether Magnet recognition will be granted.

An organization seeking to reapply for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence of how Magnet concepts, performance and quality were sustained and improved over the four-year period.

?We?re a better institution today because of the Magnet recognition we achieved nine years ago,? Narendra Kini, MD, MHA, president and CEO at Miami Children's Hospital said in a release. ?It has raised the bar for patient care and inspired every member of our team to achieve excellence
every day.?

At UF Health Shands, the Magnet commission commended Irene Alexaitis, RN, DNP, NEA-BC, vice president, nursing and patient services, for her leadership at UF Health as well as in the state and national community of nursing.

?Irene has consistently set the standards high for everyone she works with, and this designation reflects the exceptional level of nursing practice that she has galvanized,? David S. Guzick, MD, PhD, UF senior vice president for health affairs and president of UF Health, said in a release. ?She serves as an example of our entire staff?s commitment to patient-centered care.?

The ANCC, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, developed the Magnet Recognition Program in 1992 to recognize hospitals that provide the best in nursing care and a supportive professional nursing environment. The program is designed to provide customers with a benchmark for measuring quality of care.