UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital earns prestigious nursing recognition

Kelly Tracer
Media Relations Specialist

Fort Collins hospital among elite group of 11 in world

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Sept. 21, 2018) – UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital was re-designated as a Magnet hospital, making it one of just 11 hospitals in the world to have achieved this prestigious recognition at least five times.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® is the ultimate seal of quality and confidence. Organizations that achieve this designation are recognized for their superior nursing processes and quality patient care, which leads to the highest levels of safety, quality, and patient satisfaction.

Almost 100 people filled a conference room at the hospital to personally hear the official announcement from Donna Havens, chairwoman of the Commission for the Magnet Recognition Program.

“This accomplishment is a testament to your commitment for nursing excellence for the entire health care team, but most importantly, to the patients and families you serve,” Havens said during the call, which was amplified for all to hear. The announcement was followed by a roar of applause and cheers in the room.

PVH’s original designation came in 2000, making the hospital the nation’s 18th and the first in the Rocky Mountain region to receive Magnet designation. This was followed by re-designations in 2004, 2009, 2014 and this year.

Donna Poduska, chief nursing officer at PVH, said the designation provides patients with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive from a hospital. Magnet status reinforces to patients and community members that PVH is one of the nation’s top hospitals for nursing and patient care, she said.

“Hundreds of nurses walk through these doors every day to provide extraordinary care to our patients,” said Poduska, who has been with PVH for 50 years. “This recognition is only possible because of their dedication and resolve to deliver the highest level of care in nursing.”

The Magnet model focuses on five main principles: transformational leadership; structural empowerment; exemplary professional practice; new knowledge, innovations and improvements; and empirical outcomes. To achieve designation, a hospital’s priorities must align with the model and be demonstrated through metrics and measurable outcomes.

To re-up its Magnet status again, PVH had to prove it deserved it, and this meant thousands of pages of reports, data and examples. The program demands that the hospital’s core performance measures be above national averages. It also requires that applicants focus on interactions between nurses and patients, such as pain management, safety and responsiveness. Two years of data had to show higher-than-average results, and with these results, PVH had to set new, even higher goals.

The key to PVH’s success, said Kevin Unger, the hospital’s president and CEO, is the culture. “Everyone has an important part in the process and a seat at the table. Together, we are always collaborating, problem-solving and innovating to improve care and the patient experience.”

Only 11 Colorado hospitals – including UCHealth’s Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland and University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora – were among the 477 hospitals across the nation that have achieved the designation.

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.

This is the latest of several national recognitions for PVH. Earlier this year, PVH was recognized as a 100 Top Hospital by IBM Watson Health and one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades. PVH also was recognized as one of the top 10 hospitals in Colorado by U.S. News & World Report last month.