WHH Earns Highest Nursing Credential

Winter Haven, Fla., Jan. 3, 2014 — Winter Haven Hospital has again attained Magnet® recognition as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. This voluntary credentialing program for hospitals recognizes excellence in nursing. This credential is the highest honor an organization can receive for professional nursing practice.

“Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to this community,” said Steve Nierman, President of Winter Haven Hospital. “To earn Magnet recognition once was a great accomplishment and an incredible source of pride for our nurses. Our achievement of this credential for an additional four years underscores the foundation of excellence and values that drives our entire staff to strive harder each day to meet the healthcare needs of the people we serve.”

To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. The process begins with the submission of an electronic application, followed by written documentation demonstrating qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding patient care and outcomes. If scores from the written documentation fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit occurs to thoroughly assess the applicant. After this rigorous onsite review process, the Commission on Magnet Recognition reviews the completed appraisal report and votes to determine whether Magnet recognition is granted.

As an organization that had previously earned Magnet status, Winter Haven Hospital had to provide documented evidence of how Magnet concepts, performance, and quality were sustained and improved over the four-year period since the hospital received its initial recognition.

The Magnet Model is designed to provide a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC can assess applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence. The foundation of this model is composed of various elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership and coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.

Magnet recognition has been shown to provide specific benefits to hospitals and their communities, such as

▪ Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help, and receipt of discharge information

▪ Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue

▪ Higher job satisfaction among nurses and

▪ Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave position.

“We’re a better institution today because of the Magnet recognition we achieved four years ago,” said Mary Jo Schreiber, Winter Haven Hospital Chief Nursing Officer. “It has raised the bar for patient care and inspired every member of our team to achieve excellence every day. It is this commitment to providing our community with high-quality care that helped us become a Magnet facility, and it’s why we continue to serve as a Magnet hospital today.”

Being recognized as a Magnet facility for the second time is a great achievement for Winter Haven Hospital, as it continues to proudly belong to the Magnet community—a select group of 397 healthcare organizations out of nearly 6,000 U.S. healthcare organizations.

Winter Haven Hospital was initially designated a Magnet hospital in December 2008. Hospitals must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years.

About Winter Haven Hospital

Established in 1926, Winter Haven Hospital is a 527-bed facility accredited by the Joint Commission. On Aug. 30, 2013, Winter Haven Hospital joined the Tampa Bay area-based BayCare Health System to become the system’s 11th not-for-profit hospital. More than 300 board-certified physicians comprise the medical staff, covering specialties such as stroke, open heart, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency services. In addition, the hospital is recognized as a Magnet Nursing Center of Excellence, a prestigious designation held by less than seven percent of hospitals nationwide. Winter Haven Hospital has more than 2,500 employees, making it east Polk County’s largest private employer, and has been recognized by Polk Works Workforce 2020 as one of the county’s best places to work. Winter Haven Hospital is located at 200 Avenue F NE, Winter Haven, FL 33881 and serves as the major medical center for east Polk County and the U.S. Highway 27/Ridge Corridor. For more information, please call (863) 293-1121 or visit www.winterhavenhospital.org.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 11 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient's lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need.

BayCare's family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's, St. Joseph's Children's, St. Joseph's Hospital-North, St. Joseph's Women's, South Florida Baptist and Winter Haven Hospital. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.

About the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®

The Magnet Recognition Program® administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world, recognizes healthcare organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and professionalism in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program® serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark for measuring quality of care. For more information about the Magnet Recognition Program® and current statistics, visit www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet.