Stellar nursing care earns prestigious Magnet award
Children's Memorial was the first freestanding children's hospital in the country, and the first hospital in Illinois, to be designated a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
As the ANCC's highest accreditation for nursing excellence, Children's Memorial received its initial designation in 2001, and was redesignated in 2005. Less than 5 percent of U.S. hospitals have achieved and/or maintained this distinction.
Widely considered the equivalent of an Olympic gold medal in sports, the Magnet award first granted in 1994, is now the most sought-after nation-wide award known in the field of hospital nursing.
"In an environment rife with controversy about patient safety in hospitals, medical error rates, and nursing shortages, consumers need to know how good the care is at their local hospitals. Nursing's single most effective mechanism for providing that type of comparative information, a seal of approval for quality nursing care, is designation as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center." (Aiken, L.H, 2000)*
The Magnet program recognizes those hospital facilities that foster an environment that attracts and retains competent nurses through respect for the values, art, and science of nursing. Magnet hospitals allow nurses to focus on patients, resulting in positive outcomes that can be directly attributed to nursing care.
The Children's Memorial Nursing Department and staff were recognized for seven exemplar characteristics: nursing autonomy, commitment and resources for professional development, high-quality interdisciplinary relationships, availability of supports for wholistic patient care, establishment of an Endowed Chair for Nursing Practice Excellence, outstanding nursing research, a strong community service culture, and an exceptional image of nursing as competent, confident and committed professionals.
"We are very proud to be recognized as having one of the top nursing departments in the country," said Chief Nurse Executive Michelle Stephenson, RN, MSN.
Hear how Children's Memorial nurses describe the pride they have in their nursing practice and careers. Come see why the nurses are nationally recognized for their delivery of quality family centered care and are proud to be a professional nurse at Children's Memorial Hospital. Come join our team and learn why "Children's Memorial nurses are Magnetic."
*Source: Aiken, L.H., Havens, D.S. & Sloane, D.M. (2000). The magnet nursing recognition program: A comparison of two groups of magnet hospitals, AJN, 100(3), 25-35.
Barbara Cunningham, RN, ENPC, TNPC Certified, Resource Team
Nurses at Children's Memorial Hospital have a strong voice in forming policies that benefit patients, families and healthcare workers. As you walk the halls at the hospital, you can see the pride and affection that the nurses have for the patients that they deal with.
A vast and resourceful support staff is available for patients and their families. New ideas and programs are continually being developed to assist in making the hospital stay easier.
Craig LaRusso, Transport Team
An hour or two is sometimes all that I have with a sick child and his family. These are intense moments filled with nervous questions, sweating palms, quivering lips and shaking hands. Mom is frightened and her eyes well up with tears. Dad asks guarded questions, trying to hold it together.
Intersecting with a family in crisis has been a part of what I have been doing for 22 years. For the last seven, it has been on the Transport Team. For a brief time I become a part of a family's story. And, whatever ending is given to their story, I find great reward and satisfaction in what we do during our part of that story.
Harriet S. Hawkins, RN, CCRN, FAEN, Clinical and Organizational Development
In the fall of 1980, I left a staff position to work for a critical care nursing agency full time. I worked in adult critical care, but at one point the agency wanted to send me to Children's Memorial to work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I'll admit it; I felt rather threatened by the thought of smaller patients, but after three days without work, I decided that I would try the assignment.
Talk about feeling helpless! I truly felt out of place and wondered how I would make it through 12 hours. My preceptor was wonderful! She guided me through the day, offering encouragement and information and answering my many questions. I was amazed and touched by the way the family was included in the care of infants. As my shift came to an end, I had fallen in love with the patients and the NICU. By the end of the summer the director offered me a job and the rest is history. I came on staff at Children's Memorial in August 1982. I feel fortunate to have found a hospital that provides the same care to children and families that I would want for my own son.
Cynthia Paidipati, RN, BSN, 4 West
It only takes a split second for parents —devastated by the shattering reality of their child's new diagnosis of cancer — to see in a nurse's face and expressed in her actions, the staff member's genuine care and concern and know that the nurse, too, is deeply invested in their child's care.
It only takes a moment for a child dying of cancer to feel a nurse's hand and know that she is doing everything in her power to soothe, comfort and care. It only takes a single moment for a stressed-out co-worker to hear a colleague asking if she is OK and know that she will receive a helping hand if needed. I am able to be this nurse because I work at Children's Memorial Hospital.
Janice Nuuhiwa, RN, MSN, CPON, Staff Development Specialist, Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant Division
When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I am a professional cheerleader at Children's Memorial Hospital. As the staff development specialist in Hematology/Oncology and Transplantation, my proudest moments are when the nurses that I have worked with call me to share their successes.
Staff development is about assisting each nurse in defining professional development for themselves and then creatively motivating the nurse into acting upon that recently discovered opportunity. It's about helping them to achieve what they thought they could not. How many other people get to share in the joy of so many accomplishments that benefit so many people? Now that's what I call an opportunity of a lifetime!
Marge Maieritsch, RN, BSN; Pat Grapenthien, RN, BSN; and Joann Heim, RN, CPN, KIDS DOC
The KIDS DOC nurses are a unique and integral part in the current state of instant information. Each of our nurses comes with various pediatric backgrounds — from inside and outside of Children's Memorial Hospital. Before coming to referral nursing, our nurses lifted spirits, touched the souls of families and afffected lives through their careers. The combination of vast experience over many years, mastery of skills and department policies and procedures, help create the heart of health care service coordinating.
Roberta Nadel, RN, Ambulatory Services
While I was in nursing school, I rotated to various hospitals, never finding one that matched my personality. That is, until my final rotation —pediatrics at Children's Memorial Hospital.
I knew from my first clinical day at the hospital that I wanted to work here. The interaction between the nurses and patients was phenomenal.
Kathryn Owen, RN, BSN, Nursing Informatics
It is clear to me how we differ from other institutions when I attend classes each week for my master's degree. When others talk about the difficulties they encounter within their respective institutions I think, “Wow! I am supported in most everything I do; from my master's degree to my professional growth within the institution.” Very few places give as much respect and support to the nursing staff
Karen Richey, RN, MBA, Director, 3West/Epilepsy Center
I started my nursing career at Children's Memorial fresh out of college in the summer of 1988. The best thing about being a nurse at a Magnet institution is experiencing the support and respect that exists so that nurses can reach their full potential while providing the very best family centered care.
In my role as a director, I can touch the lives of patients and families in a different way. Because I have been supported by the hospital to develop in my career, I have the opportunity to coach, mentor and support and listen to those reporting through me. I feel proud to hear the many comments from families about how wonderful the nurses are.
Terri Halverson, RN, BSN, Ambulatory Stem Cell Unit
The clinical governance structure at Children's Memorial provides the perfect opportunity for nurses to have a voice in shaping their own clinical practice. When I came to the hospital, my goals included expanding my transplant knowledge base and providing excellent care. I never dreamed I would one day initiate, complete and publicly speak about nursing research and evidence-based practice. This, to me, encapsulates what nursing at Children's Memorial is all about: meeting —and then — exceeding professional goals.