CANANDAIGUA – UR Medicine Thompson Hospital has achieved its fourth consecutive Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
The designation is considered one of the ultimate benchmarks for measuring the quality of patient care and signifies that Thompson’s nurses – supported by other members of the hospital’s team – meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence.
Fewer than 10 percent of U.S. hospitals are Magnet-recognized facilities. Thompson Hospital has been a Magnet hospital since 2004, with its first re-designation in 2010 and its second in 2015.
Hospital leaders learned of the third re-designation on Feb. 18, via a video conference call with Dr. Jeanette Ives Erickson, who serves as chair of the Commission on Magnet Recognition, as well as other Magnet officials. The news of the unanimous decision followed a more than year-long application process and a December 2020 virtual site visit.
“This recognition from the ANCC again demonstrates the nursing excellence here at Thompson. I appreciate all the hard work that went into this achievement, especially during the past year, when we were in the midst of a pandemic,” said Vice President of Patient Services/Chief Nursing Officer Hazel Robertshaw, adding, “We are small but mighty.”
In addition to achieving the re-designation, Thompson was cited by ANCC as an exemplar in seven areas, all of which fall under the category of Exemplary Professional Practice. These recognitions are for outperforming national benchmarks in a number of areas including fall prevention (for both inpatients and outpatients), preventing hospital-acquired pressure injuries stage II and above, preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections, preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections, management of diabetes in the primary care practices and patient satisfaction with nurses – related to courtesy and respect – in the practices.
“Being singled out for each of these important areas of care was the icing on an incredible cake for our outstanding nurses, who work so hard every day to provide safe and compassionate care,” Robertshaw said.
According to Robertshaw, Magnet recognition is the gold standard for nursing excellence. In addition to making the public aware of the standards a hospital adheres to, she said, it signifies to nurses in the workforce that a hospital values its nurses and their ability to be a force for change within healthcare.
The ANCC National Magnet Conference® is slated to be held in Atlanta, Ga., in November of 2021, and Thompson will be among the hospitals celebrated at the conference. It is now one of the approximately 120 Magnet hospitals in the country with four or more Magnet designations.