In a single summer, the nursing team at Riverside Regional Medical Center (RRMC) remarkably has celebrated three major accomplishments: Magnet Designation, a Lantern Award and two Beacon Awards of Excellence, all from separate national health care organizations.
“It’s like winning a trifecta, or the Triple Crown,” says Sadie Thurman, Chief Nursing Officer at RRMC. “The amount of hard work that has allowed us to get so far in such a short time span is impossible to put into words, but the results have been tremendously rewarding.”
The process began back in late 2019, when RRMC began the rigorous, multi-step journey required to earn Magnet Designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Just 10% of hospitals nationwide have achieved this mark of nursing excellence.
RRMC ultimately submitted a 1,644-page document with detailed patient outcome data in advance of an in-depth site visit from ANCC representatives, who evaluated the hospital on an extensive set of standards centered on the delivery of safe, high-quality care.
The Magnet Recognition Program covers everything from how a hospital empowers its nurses to innovate and lead to how leaders work to improve critical patient care metrics such as hospital-acquired infections, pressure ulcers and falls.
The Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), meanwhile, recognized RRMC for providing first-rate emergency care, creating a supportive work environment and prioritizing leadership, education, advocacy and research. The hospital Emergency Department was one of just two recognized facilities in Virginia and one of 90 in the country.
Finally, two RRMC units earned Beacon Awards from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), which honor collaborative teamwork, leadership and evidence-based care practices. The Cardiovascular Telemetry Unit received gold designation, while the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit received silver designation.
“These three prestigious recognitions speak volumes about the incredible work that our nurses do every day, as well as the tremendous engagement of our nurse leaders,” notes Dr. Michael Oshiki, President of RRMC.
Overall, the intensive efforts needed to qualify for such awards have forever changed RRMC’s nursing culture and practices for the better and, most importantly, improved patient experiences and outcomes, Thurman adds.
“What happened this summer reflects our ongoing dedication to building healthier work environments and best serving the patients who count on us,” she says. “Moving forward, we will continue to collaborate on ways to make even more improvements. We are thrilled about what we have achieved, but this is not a stagnant process.”