KP Sacramento Medical Center recently applied for Magnet Recognition, a program developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and considered to be the highest recognition for nursing excellence. “Sacramento has earned many accolades for our outstanding care and service. Magnet designation will add to and enhance the excellent, compassionate care we provide. It will demonstrate that we are a hospital with some of the best patient safety and quality outcomes, and it will serve as a ‘magnet’ to attract the best and the brightest for recruitment and retention,” said Esperanze Chavez, MSA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive.
To achieve Magnet status, hospitals must demonstrate that they meet various standards deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership, patient outcomes, coordination and collaboration across specialties, and processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care. The designation is renewed every four years.
This prestigious distinction is the highest level a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes. Only 10% of hospitals have achieved Magnet designation out of more than 6,000 hospitals in the United States; 22% of KP hospitals in California are Magnet designated, with seven KP hospitals in SCAL and three in NCAL: South Sacramento, which is only KP hospital and the first in the world to earn Magnet with Distinction upon the first designation; Vallejo; and Santa Rosa.
Additional written documentation on patient care and outcomes will be submitted to the American Nurses Credentialing Center; if the documentation is determined to fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit by ANCC representatives will be scheduled. Although a site visit by ANCC appraisers is not expected until 2026, there is much work to be done. To prepare for Sacramento’s Magnet application, a Magnet Steering Committee was launched and a Professional Governance Council created that includes unit and facility level councils chaired by nurses. In addition to Patient Care Services, our medical group partners are key to our success; the Emergency Department, Cath Lab, Interventional Radiology, and Endoscopy are involved in this journey.
“We have invested a lot of time and energy in work around culture, quality, care experience, nursing research, and bringing our people together to create caring moments,” said Jay Robinson, Senior Vice President and Area Manager, Sacramento and South Sacramento. “It is in our DNA to reach for the highest achievements so that our patients benefit. The exciting Magnet journey is a win-win for everyone.”
Chavez added, “Nurses in a Magnet-recognized hospital have professional autonomy, are involved in decision-making that impacts bedside care, are focused on professional growth through higher education and certification and have improved nursing satisfaction – all of which lead to improved patient satisfaction.”
She acknowledged the important contributions of all who are serving on the Professional Governance Council and Magnet Steering Committee as well as co-leads Joel Mallari, DNP, RN, Director, Magnet Program, and Jennifer Henson, MSN, RN, Director of Operations, North Valley, Office of Nursing Clinical Practice.