This month marks the two-year anniversary of a major milestone for St. Mary’s Medical Center. On January 19, 2011, St. Mary’s proudly became a Magnet® designated facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Developed by the ANCC, the Magnet Recognition Program® honors healthcare organizations that provide nursing excellence. Magnet® designation is the gold standard for nursing care.
The tireless hard work and dedication of one of our Magnet nurses has us celebrating again. Joanna Emmons, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCNS, CCRN, was recently named the 2012 National Magnet Nurse of the Yearâ„¢ in the area of Empirical Outcomes! Joanna serves St. Mary’s as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Critical Care, Adult Health and ICU Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Darcy Ellison, St. Mary’s Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer said, “Joanna exemplifies the best of nursing practice. She is an advocate for our patients, and her commitment to innovation has driven improvement in nursing practice throughout St. Mary’s.”
The ANCC had this to say about Joanna: “In her self-defined role as an intensive-care provider with the medical ICU/surgical trauma ICU physicians and a certified critical-care clinical nurse specialist, Joanna Emmons has championed excellence in empirical outcomes. She established a preflight checklist for ICU nurses that reduced catheter-associated urinary tract infections well below national benchmarks, led an evidence-based ‘early warning scoring’ project that reduced code blue events outside critical-care units by 40 percent and increased calls to the rapid response team by 20 percent, led an evidence-based project that reduced central line-associated bloodstream infection rates by 67 percent and led a peripheral intravenous saline locks initiative that saves the health system more than $1 million annually.”
The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) National Magnet Nurse of the Yearâ„¢ awards recognized the outstanding contributions of clinical nurses in each of the five Magnet® Model components: Transformational Leadership; Structural Empowerment; Exemplary Professional Practice; New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements; and Empirical Outcomes. The 2012 award winners were recognized at the ANCC National Magnet Conference® in Los Angeles.
The Magnet Recognition Program recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Consumers rely on Magnet designation as the ultimate credential for high-quality nursing. Developed by ANCC, Magnet is the leading source of successful nursing practices and strategies worldwide. Currently, just 395 hospitals internationally have achieved Magnet designation.
Way to go, Joanna!
