University of Washington Medical Center has been recertified as a "Magnet Nursing Services Organization" by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for its excellence in nursing practice and patient care. UW Medical Center is the only facility in Washington to receive this honor. There are only 209 Magnet facilities worldwide.

The Magnet award is the highest level of recognition for hospital nursing awarded by the ANCC.

UW Medical Center was the first hospital in the nation to achieve Magnet status in 1994. This is the hospital's fourth certification, following submission of key data and a two-day site appraisal visit by a survey team in June.

The program was begun 12 years ago to identify institutions that provide top-quality nursing care for patients. In recertifying UW Medical Center as a Magnet hospital, the ANCC recognizes it as an institution that supports the highest quality professional nursing practice, exemplifies excellence in management philosophy and practices of nursing services, adheres to standards for improving the quality of patient care, and is attentive to the cultural and ethnic diversity of patients.

"This award is a great honor and speaks to the outstanding patient care that our nurses provide at UW Medical Center on a daily basis," said Susan Grant, chief nursing officer. "As the first Magnet hospital, UW Medical Center has become a benchmark for others."

"This wonderful achievement represents the 'gold standard' for nursing and patient care. It also confirms what many patients and family members have to say about the quality of our service day in and day out," said Interim Executive Director Lisa Brandenburg.

The Magnet Recognition Program for Excellence in Nursing Services was developed by the ANCC in 1994 to recognize health-care organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and uphold the tradition within nursing that supports professional nursing practice. The program also provides a vehicle for the dissemination of successful practices and strategies among nursing systems. As a leader in nursing excellence, UW Medical Center provides support and consultation to organizations aspiring to achieve these high standards.

The Magnet program is based on quality indicators and standards of nursing practice as defined in the American Nurses Association. Both qualitative and quantitative factors of nursing services are measured.

The ANCC selection criteria include such areas as nursing philosophy and structure, expertise and role of nursing administration, fiscal resource management, use of the nursing process, organizational environment that supports professional practice, quality assurance programs, ethics, use of nursing research and recognition of a diverse client population.

During its site visit in June, the appraisal team complimented the entire UWMC nursing staff for the excellence it brings to nursing practice. They cited the support found for nursing throughout the medical center, including administration, board members, the medical staff and colleagues in other departments.