Hospital For Special Surgery Receives Nation’s Highest Honor for Nursing Excellence

New York, NY—December 4, 2002

For the first time, a New York City hospital has received the nation’s highest honor for nursing excellence. Hospital for Special Surgery was awarded the Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Ranked No. 1 in the Northeast for Rheumatology and Orthopedics by U.S.News & World Report, HSS is a world leader in joint replacement with over 3,000 such surgeries performed annually.

The nursing profession’s top honor recognizes quality patient care and exemplary nursing leadership. Based in Washington, D.C., the ANCC is the nation’s leading nursing credentialing organization and is a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA). Currently, only 58 other health care facilities in the United States have official Magnet status.

“Achieving Magnet status is a well-earned tribute to the extraordinary team of health care professionals at HSS,” said Jacqueline Kostic, MS, RN, Vice President of Nursing for Hospital for Special Surgery. Ms. Kostic continued, “Magnet designation not only affirms the success of the programs that we have developed and implemented to insure quality patient care, but acknowledges our commitment to developing and maintaining a caring, compassionate and capable workforce.”

John R. Reynolds, President & CEO of HSS said, “Teamwork is at the heart of HSS’ commitment to providing the highest quality of patient care. Magnet Recognition serves to validate the effectiveness of our combined efforts by recognizing that our nurses provide world class care to each and every one of our patients. Congratulations to the entire HSS Nursing Team!”

ANCC’s Magnet program is a voluntary peer-review process. To achieve Magnet designation, HSS went through a rigorous evaluation process that started in 2000. This included appraisal of the hospital’s nursing services, clinical outcomes, and patient care delivery as defined in the ANA’s Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators by a team of professionals with experience in quality indicators, nursing administration and nursing care. The appraisers not only reviewed traditional "nurse-sensitive" indicators, but also conducted extensive interviews that helped evaluate the effectiveness of the management philosophy and advocacy practices of the Nursing leadership and staff.

According to Deirdre O’Flaherty, MSN, RN, Assistant Vice President, Inpatient/Ambulatory Services at HSS, “Magnet recognition attests to the value of nursing in our organization. While the process was demanding, the entire staff of HSS was behind us, which energized us all.”

Russell Warren, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief at HSS noted, “Our nurses and their leadership are to be congratulated on their tremendous achievement in being named as a Magnet Hospital. The recognition is well deserved for our nurses who work diligently for our patients by constantly improving their care."

Stephen Paget, MD, Physician-in-Chief for the Hospital added, “HSS nurses are our most respected partners in assuring the highest quality in patient care, education, research and community outreach. They are at the ‘front line’ of our musculoskeletal care every minute of every day, and they are world class.”