​NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., February 9, 2015 -- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has again attained Magnet® recognition as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. This voluntary credentialing program for hospitals recognizes excellence in nursing. This credential is the highest honor an organization can receive for professional nursing practice.

“Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to this community,” said Robert T. Braithwaite, president and CEO of Hoag. “To earn Magnet recognition twice already was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses. Our achievement of this credential for an additional four years underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drives our entire staff to strive harder each day to meet the healthcare needs of the people we serve.”

Magnet recognition has become the gold standard for nursing excellence and is taken into consideration when the public judges healthcare organizations. In fact, 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.

To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. The process begins with the submission of an electronic application, followed by written documentation demonstrating qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding patient care and outcomes. If scores from the written documentation fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit will occur to thoroughly assess the applicant. After this rigorous on-site review process, the Commission on Magnet will review the completed appraisal report and vote to determine whether Magnet recognition will be granted.

An organization seeking to reapply for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence of how Magnet concepts, performance, and quality were sustained and improved over the four-year period since the hospital received its most recent recognition.

In particular, the Magnet Model is designed to provide a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC can assess applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence. The foundation of this model is composed of various elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership and coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.

Magnet recognition has been shown to provide specific benefits to hospitals and their communities, such as:

• Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help, and receipt of discharge information

• Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue

• Higher job satisfaction among nurses

• Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave position

“We are a better institution today because of the initial Magnet recognition we achieved eight years ago, and the re-designation four years ago,” said Rick Martin, Ed.D, MSN, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Hoag. “It has 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 facility, and it’s why we continue to serve as a Magnet hospital today.”

Being recognized as a Magnet facility for the third time is a great achievement for Hoag as it continues to proudly belong to the Magnet community—a select group of 406 healthcare organizations out of nearly 6,000 U.S. healthcare organizations, and one of only 26 in California. Hoag was initially designated a Magnet hospital in 2005. Hospitals must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality.

ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN

Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 24,000 inpatients and 362,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, six health centers, and seven urgent care centers. Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which has served Orange County since 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010, are designated Magnet hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate, Hoag Orthopedic Institute. In 2013, Hoag entered into an alliance with St. Joseph Health to further expand health care services in the Orange County community, known as St. Joseph Hoag Health. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for the past 19 consecutive years and, for an unprecedented 19 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org for more information.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN NURSES CREDENTIALING CENTER’S (ANCC) MAGNET RECOGNITION PROGRAM®

The Magnet Recognition Program® administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world, recognizes healthcare organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and professionalism in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark for measuring quality of care. For more information about the Magnet Recognition Program and current statistics, visit www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet.