Baystate Medical Center Achieves Fourth Magnet Recognition

SPRINGFIELD — For an unprecedented fourth consecutive time, Baystate Medical Center has achieved Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a distinction that places the hospital’s nursing staff among the finest in the nation.

As a Magnet-certified hospital, Baystate Medical Center is part of a select group of 530 healthcare organizations out of more than 6,000 in the U.S. It is one of only 10 such hospitals in Massachusetts and 26 in New England. Nationally, only about 8.5% of all U.S. hospitals are Magnet-recognized.

The Magnet recognition program was developed by the ANCC, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Assoc., to recognize healthcare organizations that provide the best nursing care and uphold the tradition within nursing of professional practice. Magnet recognition is the highest national credential for nursing excellence, serving as the gold standard for nursing practice.

“Recognizing nursing excellence at Baystate Medical Center for a fourth time over a span of 15 years has placed us among a group of less than 1% of hospitals nationally who have achieved this honor. Only three other hospitals in Massachusetts hold a four-time Magnet hospital designation,” said Nancy Shendell-Falik, president of Baystate Medical Cente and senior vice president of Hospital Operations for Baystate Health.

Shendell-Falik noted this fourth designation comes at an unprecedented time. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought fast-moving changes in the delivery of care and incredible stress on the lives of patients and caregivers. The award recognizes the high level of care our nurses have always delivered, especially the unique challenges they have faced in the past seven months treating complex coronavirus patients.”

Healthcare organizations, such as Baystate Medical Center, are required to reapply for Magnet recognition every four years based on adherence to Magnet concepts and demonstrated improvements in patient care and quality. The re-credentialing initiative involves an extensive application and review process, as well as a site visit by representatives of the ANCC, during which hospitals 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.

Surveyors noted the leadership of Christine Klucznik, Baystate Medical Center’s chief Nursing officer, as instrumental in the hospital’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Additionally, Baystate outperformed the national benchmark for device-related hospital-acquired pressure injuries for the majority of two years.