UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies Earns Nursing Recognition for Third Consecutive Time

UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies has been designated as a Magnet organization for the third year in a row for nursing excellence.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program is the highest seal of quality and confidence that recognizes organizations that achieve the designation for their superior nursing process and quality patient care, which lead to the highest levels of safety, quality, and patient satisfaction. Nurses and staff from UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies (MCR) joined a virtual celebration the morning of the designation to hear the official announcement from Jeanette Ives Erickson, chairwoman of the Commission for the Magnet Recognition Program.

“This is your third designation, a wonderful reason to celebrate,” said Jeanette during the call. “Everybody should be just incredibly proud,” Jeanette said on the call.

The Magnet model focuses on five main principles: transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, new knowledge, innovations and improvements, and empirical outcomes. MCR’s original designation took place in 2010, followed by a re-designation in 2016.

The Magnet program requires the hostel’s core performance measures to be above that of the national average in addition to a focus on interactions between nurses and patients, such as pain management, safety, and responsiveness. This means two years’ worth of data had to show higher than average results, which MCR had to set even higher goals.

“It takes an incredible amount of collaboration, innovation, and teamwork to earn to receive this designation,” said Kevin Unger, the chief executive officer of UCHealth’s northern region. “I am so proud,” Kevin said.

MCR outperformed national benchmarks regarding door-to-balloon time for cardiac Cath lab-patients, central line-associated bloodstream infection rates, device-related hospital-acquired pressure injury rates, and falls-with-injury rates. The hospital also exceeded goals in improving professional nursing certifications and professional registered nurses earning a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Fourteen Colorado hospitals, including UCHealth’s Poudre Valley Hospital and University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora as of Thursday, January 21, were among the 548 hospitals nationwide that currently hold Magnet designations.

“We couldn’t have done this without everybody, all staff coming together and pulling together for us,” said Jesse Willard, Chief nursing officer at MCR. “And the fact that we were able to accomplish this during a pandemic – I don’t even know what to say about that,” Jesse said.

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