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Answer: It’s a chief indicator of our area’s fine nursing care.
The concept of “magnet hospital” was conceived by the American Academy of Nursing in 1983. The academy completed a national research study to determine which hospitals in the United States were distinguished by their ability to attract and retain professional nurses.
The findings described the characteristics that enabled 41 hospitals to be designated as “magnet hospitals.” Those characteristics were, and still are, called “forces of magnetism.”
St. Joseph Hospital was the one facility in our area to be awarded “magnet” status in 1983. Today several more hospitals have earned the recognition.
The American Nurses Association gave further prominence to the research of 1983 by creating the nonprofit American Nurses Credentialing Center to administer the Magnet Recognition Program in 1993, a highly respected role it continues to fulfill today.
The first magnet hospitals were selected by reputation for nursing care and supportive atmosphere. Today, the designation is only attained after a vigorous three- to five-day on-site inspection by a team of nursing appraisers.
Hospitals now vie for the inspection, beginning with detailed applications followed by the surveyors’ stringent visits.
Children’s Mercy Hospital attained the designation in 2003; St. Joseph repeated in 2004; St. Luke’s Hospital and the University of Kansas Hospital in 2006; and Children’s again in 2007.
For the public in the greater Kansas City area, the significance of four magnet hospitals on the scene concurrently reflects the outstanding nursing talent pool existing among us. Also, it is a tribute to our schools of nursing and in-hospital nursing trainers.
Much is made, rightly, of problems in our nation’s health-care system. Costs continue their rapid rise; 47 million people are uninsured; Medicare and Medicaid budgets are under terrific pressure.
But our area’s nursing personnel are doing their part, despite systemwide problems, to provide us the comfort and security of their expertise. They deserve our appreciation and applause.
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