The hospital and its nurses received the profession’s highest honor March 14 when the American Nurses Credentialing Center awarded them the Magnet Recognition…
By Adam Kramer
The nurses at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park are in a class by themselves.
The hospital and its nurses received the profession’s highest honor March 14 when the American Nurses Credentialing Center awarded them the Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service. LIJ became the first hospital in New York state to win the award and joined 28 health-care facilities across the country to be given the citation.
“The magnet designation is like winning an Olympic gold medal,” said Maureen White, senior vice president and chief nursing executive for the North Shore-long Island Jewish Health System. “Achieving magnet status validates everything we have worked for.”
She said the award demonstrates the nurses dedication, commitment to patient care, visionary nursing leadership and the hospital’s development and retention of a caring, compassionate and competent group of nurses.
“Magnet recognition validates the value of nursing in our organization,” said Elaine Rosenblum, associate executive director for patient care at LIJ. “Although the process to achieve magnet status was demanding, everyone was behind us. It stimulated a sense of pride and heightened our accomplishments, which are impressive.”
The nursing profession’s top honor recognizes nurses for quality patient care and exemplary nursing leadership. The American Nurses Credentialing Center, based in Washington, D.C. is the leading U.S. nursing credential organization and a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association.
LIJ Medical Center is an 829-bed tertiary care facility comprised of Long Island Jewish Hospital, Schneider Children’ Hospital and Hillside Hospital.
According to the ANCC, the magnet program is a peer-reviewed award which honors hospitals and nurses who show excellence in management philosophy, adherence to the standards for improving nursing care, leadership and attention to the cultural and ethnic needs of patients.
The LIJ Medical Center began the review process in 1998 and submitted 14 volumes of information. A group of professional nurses also evaluated the hospital’s nursing service, patient care and clinical care based on American Nursing Association standards.
Dr. Jon Cohn, chief medical officer for North Shore-Long Island Jewish System, said he and the hospital were very proud of the nurses and their accomplishments. The nurses’ initiative in advancing their excellence was “commendable,” he said, and ultimately the patients benefit.
“As a health system we recognize that nursing leadership is just as important as physical leadership — a tenet the board of trustees at Long Island Jewish Medical Center has always supported,” said Cohn.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
