We Are Magnet®

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet designation is the highest and most prestigious credential a health care organization can achieve for nursing excellence and quality patient care. We are honored to be the only Magnet designated organization in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region. What does this mean to professional nurses? Here are some examples within the components of the Magnet Model.

Transformational Leadership

  • Visible nurse leaders – Our chief nursing officer (CNO) and other nurse leaders are visible and interact regularly with our nurses. Among the venues:
    • RN Advisory Council - Each unit selects an RN representative who meets on a regular basis with the CNO and nurse leaders in an advisory capacity.
    • Night Shift Council – Nurses from a variety of units represent their night shift peers at regular meetings with the CNO and nurse leaders to make decisions which impact nursing practice on the night shift.
  • Mentoring for clinical nurses – Our Center for Professional Excellence staff members mentor staff to present papers and posters at local, regional and national conferences, as well as publish in professional, peer-reviewed journals.

Structural Empowerment

  • Shared governance – Our nurses make decisions at the unit and organization levels regarding their professional practice. 
  • Involvement in professional nursing organizations – Our nurses offer posters and speak at national and international conferences, sharing their nursing practice innovations.
  • Professional nursing certifications – We offer study opportunities to attain certification, pay for certification examinations and provide annual recognition events for and a monetary bonus to certified nurses.
  • Reward and recognition – Our Friends of Nursing Program provides philanthropic dollars to recognize our nurses and clinical colleagues with a gala celebration and awards during national Nurses Week.

Exemplary Professional Practice

  • Professional practice model – The model details our conceptual framework. 
  • Nurse satisfaction – For our most recent employee satisfaction survey, department level nurse satisfaction data for the majority of units outperformed the mean of the national database.
  • Nurse-sensitive clinical indicators – Data for defined indicators, such as falls with injury and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers stage II, for the majority of units outperform the mean of the national data base.

New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements

  • Nursing research – We have a variety of ongoing nursing research studies.
  • Evidence-based practice – Our Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) FellowS2 Program provides formal classes and 1:1 coaching for nurses to complete an EBP practice project.
  • Technology – We use high tech applications and equipment to improve nursing practice and the patient experience. Our Continuous Ambulatory Remote Engagement Services (CARES) programs are coordinated by registered nurses. Among the technologies we use: BabyCams in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so parents can view their NICU baby at all times using a personal computer or smart device. Our innovative use of CARES technologies earned us the  prestigious Magnet Prize®.