UMC Named Elite 'Magnet Hospital'
Only AZ Hospital with Highest National Nursing Honor
| UMC received the American Nurses Association's highest honor for nursing excellence, making it the only hospital in Arizona to carry the elite "Magnet Hospital" designation.
UMC joins a distinguished list of 74 Magnet hospitals nationwide, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Mayo-Rochester Hospital in Rochester, Minn., and the Cleveland Clinic. The Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services designation is held by only 1 percent of all acute-care hospitals in this country.
"We are ecstatic with this honor. It is the highest possible tribute and recognition of nursing excellence at UMC," says Marty Enriquez, RN, vice president of Patient Care Services at UMC and leader of the hospital's more than 1,000 registered nurses. "It confirms what we've always known about the high quality of UMC's nursing care." The Magnet Recognition Program was developed in 1992 by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a branch of the American Nurses Association, to recognize hospitals that provide the best in nursing care and a supportive professional nursing environment. Magnet hospitals today must meet stringent quantitative and qualitative standards that define the highest quality of nursing practice and patient care. Becoming a Magnet hospital means that the organization must meet more than 65 standards developed by the ANCC. The standards must be demonstrated in a very extensive written document and validated by a site visit. |
 UMC staff, many of whom spent three years working toward this honor, attended the UMC Magnet Hospital designation celebration. |
The Magnet designation is a highly prized recruitment tool in this era of nursing shortages. "The nation's best nurses seek out Magnet hospitals for employment because they know that the standard of care and professionalism is going to be of the highest caliber," Ms. Enriquez adds. Magnet hospitals are known to be "nurse friendly," providing a professional practice environment, collegial nurse-physician relationships and extensive opportunities for education and professional growth, she said.
The Magnet recognition status is valid for a four-year period, at which time UMC must reapply.
 | Celebrating the Magnet Hospital designation were Marla Weston, Arizona Nurses Association, Fran Bartholomeaux, clinical nurse educator, Kathy Plager, Arizona Nurses Association, Becky Hull, director of Nursing Information Services, Lauri McCanless, clinical nurse educator, Terry Grzyb-Wysocki, director of Adult Health Services, Liz Criss, clinical educator, Marty Enriquez, vice president of UMC’s Department of Nursing, Vicki Began, director of Women & Children’s Services, and Greg Pivirotto, UMC president and CEO. |
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