Sanford Bismarck achieves 4th Magnet Designation
Contact:
Erin Horn
Sanford Health Media Relations
701-516-4903/erin.horn@sanfordhealth.org
BISMARCK, N.D. (Nov. 16, 2023) – Sanford Bismarck Medical Center and clinics in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot, Dickinson and Watford City have been recognized a fourth time by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program® – a recognition called Magnet designation. This credential is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice.
“Patients at Sanford Health Medical Center in Bismarck should know the care they receive is rated among the highest in the country,” said Todd Schaffer, M.D., president and CEO for the Bismarck region of Sanford Health. “This is the fourth time we have been honored with this designation and we know it’s because of the hard work, great attitudes, and professionalism of not only nurses but our entire healthcare team. We are so proud to be ranked among the most elite hospitals in the country for our practice standards and quality patient outcomes.”
Less than 9% of health care organizations nationwide are Magnet-designated facilities, and fewer than 2% have received the honor four times. Sanford Health Bismarck is the only healthcare organization in North Dakota to have earned this prestigious honor, let alone four times. Sanford Health earned its first Magnet designation in 2008 and received re-designations in 2013, 2018 and 2023.
“I am extraordinarily proud of our team. One of the things that makes Sanford Health Medical Center in Bismarck a Magnet organization is our culture, characterized by strong interpersonal relationships, healthy communication and authentic leadership,” said Wendy Kopp, PhD, MSN, RN, vice president of nursing and clinical services. “We are better together – one team focused on continually improving our performance and giving our very best to our patients and our community. This recognition further validates the exceptional care delivered every day. Receiving a fourth designation demonstrates our continued commitment to the Magnet Framework of Excellence and the strong cultural foundation we have built over many years to sustain achievement of high-quality care for our community.”
“Everybody is pulling together to deliver the best care and the best patient experience, said Kristin Brunelle, Magnet program coordinator. “The designation is really a tribute to the excellence of the whole organization of the Bismarck region and everybody on the team. Nursing is a large part of it, but we don’t do it alone.”
Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and the patients we serve, such as:
- Higher patient satisfaction
- Better patient outcomes
- Improved safety and quality
- Higher job satisfaction among nurses
About the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (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.
The Magnet Program 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 most recent recognition.
The Sanford Bismarck region provides health care to central and western North Dakota, eastern Montana and northern South Dakota. It includes 21 clinics in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot, Dickinson and Watford City, as well as a Level II trauma center located in Bismarck.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization serves more than one million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. The integrated health system has 47 medical centers, 2,800 Sanford physicians and advanced practice providers, 170 clinical investigators and research scientists, more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations and world clinics in 8 countries around the globe. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
