Oak Lawn, Ill. -- For the third, consecutive, four-year period in a row, Advocate Christ Medical Center and Advocate Children’s Hospital-Oak Lawn have been designated “Magnet” institutions by the Commission on Magnet Recognition of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Magnet status is one of the highest professional honors accorded a hospital, setting it apart as an organization of the highest excellence, quality care, evidence-based practices and patient safety. Studies show that Magnet hospitals achieve better overall patient outcomes, shorter lengths of patient stays in the hospitals, higher rates of patient satisfaction and greater cost efficiencies.
The medical center is one of only five institutions in Illinois to earn Magnet designation for a third time.
“The collective commitment of our nurses, medical staff and all our associates to our health care ministry – to excellence, patient service and safety, and the highest professional standards of care – is the reason why we have been able to achieve Magnet status for a third time in a row,” said Lynn Hennessy, the medical center’s vice president for nursing services and chief nurse executive.
Ken Lukhard, president of the medical center, agreed. “Many hospitals make claims about delivering superior care, but Magnet designation gives Christ Medical Center and Advocate Children’s Hospital-Oak Lawn credible, third-party validation that patient care in general here is truly outstanding.”
A team led by Wendy Tuzik Micek, director for nursing science and Magnet at the medical center, oversaw the lengthy application and evaluation processes culminating in Magnet redesignation. The team’s efforts included coordination of a rigorous, three-day, on-site review in April of this year by an ANCC survey team. The review involved not only detailed interviews with campus leaders and staff, but discussions with community leaders, including the mayor of the village of Oak Lawn.
In announcing the renewal of the medical center’s Magnet status on June 17, Deborah Zimmermann, chair of the ANCC’s Commission on Magnet Recognition, reported that the commission had unanimously approved the redesignation. “We were impressed with your dedication to excellence and your drive to improve clinical outcomes and services to patients,” she told leaders and staff here.
Zimmermann referred to the many clinical, service and safety recognitions, honors and awards accorded both Christ Medical Center and Advocate Children’s Hospital-Oak Lawn during the past several years as testament to the level of care provided by the campus to its communities. She also pointed to the medical center’s low turnover and vacancy rate in nursing, the improved patient satisfaction scores and nursing’s implementation of “33 evidence-based practices in your translation of research into practice.
“The Commission recognizes [the medical center’s] commitment to nursing, health care and patients,” she concluded.
Robert Stein, MD, vice president for medical management at Christ Medical Center, added, “There has been a constant dedication to improve everything we do as physicians and associates for the benefit of our patients. We greatly appreciate receiving Magnet recognition, but will continue to strive for excellence in everything we do for our patients.”
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About Advocate Christ Medical Center
Advocate Christ Medical Center is part of Advocate Health Care, which is one of the nation’s leading health care networks. A not-for-profit, 694-bed, premier teaching institution with more than 1,000 affiliated physicians, Christ Medical Center is a leader in health care and one of the major referral hospitals in the Midwest in a number of specialties, including cardiovascular services, heart and kidney transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, orthopedics and women’s health. The hospital also has one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in Illinois providing emergency care for more than 95,000 patient visits annually and is a leader in breakthrough technologies, including eICU® (electronic intensive care unit) monitoring, robotic da Vinci Surgery System® and CyberKnife® Radiosurgery. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the medical center was named to the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals®, while U.S. News & World Report ranked the medical center among the nation’s leading providers for cardiology and heart surgery and for geriatric medicine and ranked it fourth overall among hospitals in the state of Illinois. The hospital is also recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Magnet Center. Magnet status represents the highest honor in the nursing profession. To obtain more information or to visit our newsroom, log on to: www.advocatehealth.com/christ.