Newton Medical Center achieves prestigious ANCC Magnet recognition

NEWTON, N.J. (Sussex County) – Atlantic Health’s Newton Medical Center was recently designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

The ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program® honors health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice.

With this credential, Newton Medical Center joins the global community of organizations honored by the Magnet Recognition Program®. Currently, only 606 U.S. health care organizations have achieved Magnet recognition, approximately 10 percent of hospitals in the United States.

“Every day the nurses at Newton Medical Center strive for the highest level of clinical excellence and exceptional patient outcomes. This Magnet designation proves they are making the grade,” said Bethany Lichtenwalner, RN, Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Newton Medical Center. “I offer my congratulations and gratitude to our entire nursing team on this tremendous recognition and for all they do for our patients.”

The Magnet Model provides a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC evaluates applicants across several components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence. The foundation of this model comprises 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.

“Earning Newton’s first recognition as a Magnet institution is a powerful statement about the quality of care our team provides to our entire community,” said Bob Adams, President, Newton Medical Center. “It shows the world that Newton meets the gold standard when it comes to delivering innovative and personalized care.”

Newton Medical Center received seven exemplars, or examples of best practices, in areas including the following:

• The hospital’s performance in the avoidance of Falls with Injury outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of eligible inpatient units
• Newton’s data on Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI) stages 2 and above outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on all eligible inpatient units
• Data on Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of the eligible inpatient units
• The hospital’s data for Central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of the eligible inpatient units
• Newton’s data for Patient Burns outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of the eligible inpatient units
• Data on Surgical Errors outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of the eligible inpatient units
• Data on Care coordination outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight quarters on 100% of the eligible inpatient units

The Magnet designation is conferred every four years to only those organizations that demonstrate sustained superiority in nursing care. Applicants undergo an extensive evaluation and members granted Magnet status must continue to meet rigorous standards.