On Friday, June 18, Reading Hospital – Tower Health received Magnet® Designation for Nursing Excellence from The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for the second consecutive time. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® distinguishes healthcare organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence. This credential is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice. The hospital received its first Magnet Designation in August 2016.
“Achieving Magnet designation is difficult,” said Rosi Wurster, Chief Nursing Officer at Reading Hospital. “To achieve it a second time speaks to the consistent high-quality care from our team. Magnet certification is considered the gold standard for nursing excellence. We use the ANCC Magnet Model at Reading Hospital, and all Tower Health Hospitals as the framework for nursing professional practice.”
To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. This process includes an electronic application, written patient care documentation, a virtual visit due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition.
Receiving Magnet recognition for the second time is a great achievement for Reading Hospital as it continues to proudly belong to the global Magnet community – a small, select group of healthcare organizations and hospitals in the U.S.
William M. Jennings, Reading Hospital President and CEO, said, “Our Magnet redesignation is a testament to the continued dedication to high-quality nursing practice. Our patients can be confident that when they come to Reading Hospital, Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing, or the SurgiCenter at Spring Ridge, they benefit from outstanding patient care, a commitment to patient safety, and innovation in professional nursing practice. While this recognition is a Nursing designation, it is a full team effort that recognizes the commitment from all team members. I commend everyone at Reading Hospital for the role they played in this achievement.”
Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to healthcare organizations and their communities, such as:
- Higher patient satisfaction with key quality markers such as nurse communication, availability of help, and receipt of discharge information.
- Lower risk of 30-day mortality.
- Higher job satisfaction among nurses and greater retention of nursing staff.
Magnet designation lasts for four years, and healthcare organizations seeking redesignation must demonstrate adherence to Magnet concepts and improvements in patient care and quality. An organization reapplying for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence to demonstrate how staff members sustained and improved Magnet concepts, performance, and quality over the four-year period since the organization received its current recognition.
About Reading Hospital
Reading Hospital is the flagship, Magnet Recognized, acute care hospital of Tower Health. Located in West Reading, Pa., Reading Hospital is a 714-bed hospital that is home to many top-tier specialty care centers, including Reading HealthPlex, Tower Health Transplant Institute, McGlinn Cancer Institute, Miller Regional Heart Center, Emergency Department, Level I Trauma Center and Beginnings Maternity Center, which houses the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). With more than 1,000 physicians and providers across 49 locations, Reading Hospital has been recognized for its quality outcomes and clinical expertise across services lines. It is listed as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for five consecutive years and received a 5-Star Rating from CMS two years in a row. For more information, visit towerhealth.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 healthcare 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.nursingworld.org/magnet.