Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center Achieves Magnet® Recognition Again

HOUSTON (September 26, 2019) – Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (Baylor St. Luke’s) attained Magnet recognition for the fifth consecutive time in September, a testament to its continued dedication to high-quality nursing practice. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® distinguishes health care organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence. This credential is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice.

Receiving Magnet recognition for the fifth time is a great achievement for Baylor St. Luke’s, as it continues to proudly belong to the global community of Magnet recognized organizations. Just 498 U.S. health care organizations out of over 6,300 U.S. hospitals have achieved Magnet recognition. Baylor St. Luke’s is amongst the four percent of hospitals that have been Magnet-designated five times in the U.S.   

“Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our nurses’ commitment and dedication to providing quality and compassionate patient care,” said Doug Lawson, Ph.D., president, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and CEO, CHI Texas Division. “Our repeated achievement of this credential underscores the foundation of excellence and is evidence of all hospital disciplines within Baylor St. Luke’s working together to provide quality patient care.”

Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations 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 rates.
• Higher job satisfaction among nurses.
• Lower nurse reports of intentions to leave their positions.

Magnet recognition is the gold standard for nursing excellence and is a factor when the public judges health care organizations. U.S. News & World Report’s annual showcase of “America’s Best Hospitals” includes Magnet recognition in its ranking criteria for quality of inpatient care.

The Magnet Model provides a framework for nursing practice, research, and measurement of outcomes. Through this framework, ANCC evaluates applicants across a number of 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.

To achieve initial Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff. This process includes an electronic application, written patient care documentation, an on-site visit, and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition.

Health care organizations must reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality. An organization reapplying for Magnet recognition must provide documented evidence to demonstrate how staff members sustained and improved Magnet concepts, performance and quality over the four-year period since the organization received its 2001 recognition.

About Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is an 881-bed quaternary care academic medical center that is a joint venture between Baylor College of Medicine and St. Luke’s Health. Located in the Texas Medical Center, the hospital is the home of the Texas Heart® Institute, a cardiovascular research and education institution founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD. The hospital was the first facility in Texas and the Southwest designated a Magnet® hospital for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, receiving the award five consecutive times. Baylor St. Luke’s also has three community emergency centers offering adult and pediatric care for the Greater Houston area.

About the CHI Texas Division

The CHI Texas Division, a member of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), is comprised of three markets―in Houston, St. Luke’s Health (St. Luke’s) is home to eight hospitals, eight emergency centers, Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Radiation & CyberKnife Center, and numerous Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Group locations throughout Greater Houston; St. Luke’s Health Memorial (three hospitals and a long-term acute care facility in East Texas); and St. Joseph Health (five hospitals and several St. Joseph Medical Group locations across Brazos Valley). In addition, St. Luke’s flagship hospital, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center, is a joint venture with Baylor College of Medicine. Together, St. Luke’s and Baylor College of Medicine are transforming healthcare delivery with a mission to usher in a new era of healthcare to create healthier communities. For more information, visit CHITX.org.

About ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program

The Magnet Recognition Program — administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world — identifies health care 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.