Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has maintained its status as the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys’ only Magnet Hospital, the nation’s highest recognition for nursing excellence.

Employees gathered on Friday with hospital leadership to hear the announcement via conference call from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which weighs standards of patient care, nursing practice collaboration, patient outcomes and nursing research in selecting Magnet hospitals.

A crowd of about 100 cheered and toasted one another with sparkling apple cider when the announcement was made. Nursing teams chosen for the four-year recognition represent the top 6 percent in the nation in terms of quality. Providence Holy Cross was first named a Magnet Hospital in 2007.

“We are overjoyed,” Chief Nursing Officer Anna White said. “Achieving Magnet status is a great achievement, and maintaining it over 10 years shows consistent top quality nursing practices and an unwavering dedication to advancing patient care. It’s an honor to lead this team of nurses who set new standards for our profession, who learn from one another and who continue to challenge themselves to find new ways to improve upon excellence.”

In 2007, the 377-bed Providence Holy Cross became the first community hospital in Los Angeles County and the 11th hospital in California to earn Magnet status. Today there are 448 Magnet Hospitals nationwide and 32 in the state. Signature services at Providence Holy Cross include emergency and trauma care, cardiology, pulmonology, maternity, neonatal intensive care, orthopedics and oncology.

“Providence Holy Cross nurses continue to raise the bar on quality and compassionate patient care through their skill, dedication and enthusiasm for innovation,” said Chief Executive Bernard Klein, M.D. “In recent weeks, our daily patient census has surpassed records, and a key reason is our reputation for excellence in nursing care. That, in turn, attracts the finest physicians because they expect the best for their patients.”

The ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive. The program is based on quality standards of nursing practice as defined by the American Nurses Association, as well as evidence-based standards from other professional nursing associations.

The focus of Magnet is on transformational leadership throughout nursing services, structures that empower nurses to be involved in decisions regarding practice, equipment and design that can affect nursing practice, exemplary professional practice, patient care outcomes that are better than national and state benchmarks and research to advance bedside care.

Ed. Note: This article is a press release provided by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.