Children’s Hospital among nation’s top 8% of hospitals to achieve the prestigious nursing Magnet® Recognition

As the highest national honor for excellence in nursing, Magnet represents the gold standard for quality.

NEW ORLEANS – This month, Children’s Hospital New Orleans is celebrating achievement of the national Magnet Recognition Program® certification, a reflection of its nursing professionalism, teamwork and excellence in patient care. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program® distinguishes organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence.

With this certification, Children’s Hospital New Orleans joins the global community of Magnet-recognized organizations. Just a small, select group of U.S. healthcare organizations have achieved Magnet recognition, which requires a rigorous and lengthy application and review process with broad participation from across the organization. In addition to achieving Magnet designation, Children’s Hospital received five exemplars in the Magnet Model competency of exemplary professional practice.

“Magnet recognition provides our community with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of patient care,” said Lindsey Casey, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “Achieving Magnet recognition reinforces the culture of excellence that is a cornerstone of how we serve our community, and represents our nurses’ commitment to providing the very best care to the children of Louisiana and the Gulf South.”

Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to healthcare organizations and their communities, such as:

• Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help with 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.

“Magnet organizations represent those who truly value nursing,” said John R. Nickens IV, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “It is not just an award or a badge of honor, but is a reflection of our continuous commitment to excellence in pediatric healthcare, with nurses at the forefront. To patients, Magnet designation means the very best care, delivered by nurses who are supported to be the very best that they can be.”

Magnet hospitals are certified as institutions where nurses are empowered to not only take the lead on patient care, but to be the drivers of institutional healthcare change and innovation. The Magnet Model provides a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC evaluates applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence.

The foundation of this model comprises various elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership, coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.

As Louisiana’s first and largest freestanding children’s hospital, Children’s Hospital New Orleans employs more than 800 nurses who support 93 different departments. 61 percent of Children’s Hospital nurses hold specialty certifications, and more than 80 percent hold a BSN or greater. The Children’s nursing team advances excellence in nursing practice and demonstrates professional growth through transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, new knowledge, innovations, and continuous improvements.

About Children’s Hospital New Orleans

Children’s Hospital is a 222-bed, non-profit academic pediatric medical center that offers comprehensive healthcare services, including over 40 pediatric specialties, delivered just for children. With more than 400 physicians trained in more than 40 pediatric sub-specialties, Children’s offers a comprehensive array of pediatric healthcare services in Louisiana and the Gulf South. In addition to its main campus located in New Orleans, the hospital operates a network of specialty clinics across Louisiana, including in Covington, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Lafayette. Children’s offers primary care services at 13 convenient locations and remotely via its Virtual Care for kids program. Children’s is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system which also includes New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center, and East Jefferson General Hospital. Learn more at chnola.org

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 is the highest national honor 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.nursingworld.org/magnet.