The American Nurses Credentialing Center, a branch of the American Nurses Association, today awarded Southeast Missouri Hospital the Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Award. This is the nation’s highest honor a hospital can receive for nursing care.

Southeast is the fourth hospital in Missouri, and the first outside a metropolitan area of the state, to achieve Magnet designation.

The award recognizes excellence in all aspects of nursing services, including leadership and management philosophy, staff satisfaction, the practice environment and the quality of patient care.

Magnet hospitals are considered to be national models for patient care.

In Missouri, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics and St. Joseph Health Center, both in Kansas City, and Barnes Jewish Christian in St. Louis, are the only other Magnet hospitals.

"Today, Southeast Missouri Hospital joins these institutions in holding this national distinction," said Southeast President and CEO James W. Wente. "Out of more than 6,000 hospitals in the United States, only 126, or just over 2 percent, are Magnet hospitals." The Magnet recognition status is valid for a four-year period, at which time Southeast must reapply.

Magnet designation, Wente said, "confirms my long-held belief that, at Southeast, patient care is at the heart of everything we do. The professionalism and dedication demonstrated by our nursing staff on a daily basis truly set Southeast’s nursing team apart. Magnet distinction also is recognition of everyone who works with our nurses."

Karen Hendrickson, Ed.D., RN, CNAA, BC, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Southeast, said earning Magnet designation "is an honor for the entire hospital. It takes everyone working together, in a collaborative environment, to achieve Magnet recognition."

Documenting the "forces of magnetism" was an arduous task that began in early 2003, she said. Magnet coordinator Sharon Stinson, MSA, BSN, RN, CNA, BC, Director of Patient Care Services at Southeast, oversaw documentation submitted as part of the official Magnet application to comply with 14 standards – more than 2,800 pages weighing more than 50 pounds. Only those hospitals receiving an excellent rating merit a site visit by Magnet surveyors, who are practicing nurse administrators from throughout the country.

Southeast’s three-day site visit took place in mid-July. During the visit, surveyors interviewed more than 350 of Southeast’s more than 500 nurses, and also met with many other Hospital departments, administrators, Board of Trustees members and more than a dozen community leaders.

The Magnet program, Hendrickson said, provides patients with the "ultimate benchmark" to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive. Research shows that Magnet-designated facilities have lower patient mortality rates and shorter lengths of stay, and they consistently outperform other facilities in recruiting and retaining nurses, both of which are of vital concern nationwide. "Sufficient numbers of RNs are essential if our hospitalized patients and their families are to receive quality care," Hendrickson said. Just 20 years ago, more than 80 percent of America’s hospitals did not have adequate staffing. That shortage continues to exist today and is expected to grow to 500,000 over the next four years. Magnet hospitals, she explained, consistently outperform their peers in recruiting and retaining nurses and have more favorable nurse to patient ratios.

Of Southeast’s present nursing staff, Hendrickson said the average number of years employed at Southeast is 10. "Both physicians and patients appreciate the continuity of quality care and nursing expertise at Southeast that results from low staff turnover," she noted. The nursing staff vacancy rate at Southeast is less than 2 percent, compared to 10 nationwide and 7 to 8 percent statewide.

She noted that, at Southeast, 94 percent of nurses are RNs and 6 percent are LPNs. Nearly half of Southeast’s nurses are prepared at the bachelor degree or higher, and 23 percent are certified in their practice speciality.
"Magnet hospitals are evidence that creating a professional nurse practice environment is the solution to the flight of nurses from hospital practice," Hendrickson said, adding that Magnet designation also provides valuable information to consumers as they select hospitals.

Nursing at Southeast "reflects character, pride, academic achievement, validation of excellence through certification and a commitment to lifelong learning," Hendrickson added. "All of these characteristics come together as we demonstrate our passion for nursing every day in the care of our patients."

Click here to see the Hospital's Magnet Ambassadors