Huntington Hospital is the first in Suffolk County to win the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. This designation, conferred by the American Nurses Association Credentialing Committee, indicates that a hospital meets the highest national standards for professional nursing practice.
“This achievement
validates the outstanding quality of nursing care
delivered at this hospital,” commented Myrna
Myers-Laque, RN, EdD, Vice President for Nursing.
Magnet status indicates
that a hospital provides an organizational structure
that emphasizes the important role of nursing
as a key element of the healthcare team. The process
of achieving Magnet status is rigorous and includes
the submission of five volumes of documentation
and an intensive three-day site survey.
There are 14 standards
that must be met prior to the achievement of Magnet
status. Among the areas that are emphasized are
nursing education and professional certification,
organizational structure and management style,
and quality of care.
Diane Peyser, RN,
Director of Staff Development, oversaw the monumental
task of coordinating Huntington Hospital’s
application, a process that she describes as a
“two-year journey.”
At the outset, a
committee of 14 “Standard Leaders”
was recruited to help document that Huntington
met each of the ANCC’s standards required
for Magnet certification. In addition, a team
of nurses known as “Magnet Motivators”
was assembled to facilitate communication about
the Magnet process to the hospital’s 950
Nursing Department staff members.
“Our staff
believed that we were a Magnet Nursing Department,
felt that we should apply for this designation,
and were eager to do their part to help,”
said Ms. Peyser. “Our nurses are passionate
about the quality of patient care we provide.”
While the Magnet
Award is specifically focused on Nursing, both
Ms. Myers-Laque and Ms. Peyser affirmed that the
entire hospital staff played a vital supportive
role in achieving this honor.
“We relied
on other departments to support us throughout
this process,” Ms. Peyser said. “Every
employee who got involved was as enthusiastic
and eager as we were. Clearly this is an organization
that puts patient care at the heart of everything
we do.”
Ms. Myers-Laque emphasized
that the 14 Magnet standards, also known as “forces
of magnetism,” have for many years been
the basis for the practice of nursing at Huntington
Hospital.
“We can be
very proud of this accomplishment, not just because
of the Magnet Award, but because these standards
have always been the underpinning of our philosophy
of nursing here at Huntington,” she said.
Huntington Hospital
is only the third Long Island hospital to achieve
this honor; the other two are its sister hospitals,
North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and
Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Only six hospitals
in New York State are Magnet certified, and only
110 hospitals in the country have achieved this
honor.
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