For the third consecutive time, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has bestowed Magnet recognition for clinical excellence to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

“Receiving Magnet Recognition for the third time in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ history affirms our commitment to providing the best in patient care,” said CHLA President and CEO Paul S. Viviano. “My sincerest gratitude and admiration goes out to our dedicated nursing staff and nursing leadership for the exemplary care they provide and the high standards they follow every day.”

The Magnet Recognition Program was developed by the ANCC, the world's largest and most prestigious nurse credentialing organization, to recognize healthcare organizations that demonstrate the highest quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional practice. According to the ANCC, Magnet designation benefits consumers by identifying hospitals with superior clinical care and quality patient outcomes. The four-year credential is one of the highest honors a health organization can receive.

“Our nursing staff is the backbone of patient care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,” said Nancy Lee, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, senior vice president and chief clinical officer. “It is a difficult task to achieve Magnet designation status and even more difficult to maintain this designation. This achievement showcases CHLA’s impressive levels of nursing engagement as well as their dedication to excellence in all facets of patient care including research, education and clinical care—which together make CHLA a global leader in pediatric care.”

Magnet is an international credential with healthcare organizations in five countries achieving Magnet recognition. Only a select group of 468 healthcare organizations out of approximately 6,000 in the U.S. have achieved Magnet status. CHLA is one of 33 California hospitals to hold the Magnet designation.

The Magnet Recognition Program commission reported that CHLA exceeded many of the high Magnet standards and stood out as an example to hospitals across the U.S. in several areas. In addition, the commission cited many practices and programs that exceeded its stringent standards including:

• Mentoring and succession planning activities for nurse leaders
• Communication between clinical nurses and leadership that led to changes in the nurse practice environment
• Effective transition of new graduate nurses into the practice environment
• Providing exemplary services to the most vulnerable populations in Los Angeles including homeless and transgender youth
• Partnering with the community to perform scoliosis screenings for more than 17,000 students across greater Los Angeles
• Hemodialysis unit data for influenza vaccination outperformed the mean for all quarters

To seek Magnet designation, institutions must create a 2,500-page document detailing the hospital’s practices, standards, governance, research, innovations and leadership. In addition, each institution must host an intensive three-day on-site visit, during which members of the ANCC Commission review work to understand to what degree team members are empowered in their roles, to characterize the levels of competence, dedication and skill in clinicians and the impact of innovative programs and research in quality care and patient health outcomes.

Mary Dee Hacker, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, vice president Institute of Nursing and Interprofessional Research at CHLA, is a member of the Commission on Magnet Recognition. As the former chief nursing officer at CHLA, she recused herself from the CHLA evaluation process.