MUSC Health achieves Magnet recognition again, reinforcing commitment to nursing excellence
May 8, 2020
MUSC Health’s Charleston division has attained Magnet recognition for the second time, demonstrating its continued dedication to high-quality nursing practice. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program distinguishes health care organizations that meet rigorous nursing and patient-care standards. Achieving Magnet status is the highest level of honor awarded by the ANCC and is widely recognized as the worldwide gold standard in nursing excellence.
Receiving this prestigious recognition for the second time is a distinction that positions MUSC Health among a select global community of Magnet-recognized organizations. Today, only 8% of U.S. health care organizations, out of more than 6,300 U.S. hospitals, have achieved this special distinction.
“Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to this community,” said Patti Hart, DNP, R.N., MUSC Health-Charleston chief nursing officer. “To earn Magnet recognition once was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses. Our repeat achievement of this credential underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drive our entire staff to strive harder each day to meet the health care needs of the people we serve.”
Magnet organizations like MUSC Health serve as trusted sources of knowledge and expertise in the delivery of nursing care. Solidly grounded in core Magnet principles, and constantly striving for discovery and innovation, MUSC Health aims to lead the transformation of health care while consistently achieving excellence in the care of the patient, family and community. The Magnet model provides the framework to accomplish these goals in addition to the measurement of important evidence-based outcomes.
According to the ANCC, Magnet recognition provides significant benefits to health care organizations and their communities, including higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication and a lower risk of 30-day mortality. In today’s competitive health care market, Magnet status is an important factor. An educated public has many choices in terms of quality health care systems, and the Magnet designation provides consumers with confidence and the ultimate benchmark from which to make important health care decisions. To that end, U.S. News & World Report’s annual showcase of America’s Best Hospitals includes Magnet recognition in its ranking criteria for quality of inpatient care.
Magnet recognition validates the steadfast and exemplary efforts of MUSC Health’s nursing team, said MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley, M.D., adding that achieving Magnet recognition further strengthens the culture of excellence that defines MUSC Health.
“We’re a better organization today because of the Magnet recognition we first achieved four years ago,” he explained. “Magnet recognition raised the bar for patient care and inspired every member of our team to achieve excellence every day. It is this commitment to providing our community with high-quality care that helped us become a Magnet-recognized organization, and it’s why we continue to pursue and maintain Magnet recognition.”
To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations go through a rigorous and lengthy process that requires enterprisewide participation from leadership and staff. Every four years, organizations must reapply for Magnet recognition and are judged on their adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The state’s leader in obtaining biomedical research funds, in fiscal year 2019, MUSC set a new high, bringing in more than $284 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.
As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 1,600 beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians’ practice plan and nearly 275 telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eight hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Florence, Lancaster and Marion counties. In 2019, for the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.
MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $3.2 billion. The more than 17,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.
