PVH achieves magnet status for sixth time

FORT COLLINS — The American Nurses Credentialing Center has redesignated UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital as a Magnet hospital, making it one of just 13 hospitals in the world to have earned this recognition at least six times.  

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program recognizes superior nursing processes and quality patient care, which leads to the highest levels of safety, quality and patient satisfaction, according to information from Poudre.  

A crowd of nurses and staff cheered gathered Thursday when Sharon Pappas, chair of the ANCC Commission on Magnet Recognition, made the announcement.  

“I just absolutely love rowdy Colorado nurses,” she said. “It’s the best… What you all have done in the state of Colorado has created an expectation, and you set the bar.”  

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, 2018 and this year.  

Ashley Bruning, chief nursing officer at PVH, said that earning a sixth designation illustrates the hospital’s long tradition of nursing excellence.  

“This is part of who we are — part of our culture,” she said. “Every day and every year, we build upon this excellence so we are always delivering the very best care possible to our patients. We are so proud of our nurses. They are continually growing professionally, raising the bar and improving the lives of our patients.” 

The Magnet model focuses on five components: transformational leadership; structural empowerment; exemplary professional practice; new knowledge, innovations and improvements; and empirical outcomes. To achieve designation, a nursing program must exemplify the five components through metrics and measurable outcomes.  

To maintain the designation, PVH had to submit an extensive document with examples that demonstrated how it met specific standards. After the document was accepted, the nurses at PVH hosted a three-day, in-person site visit with Magnet appraisers to verify, clarify and amplify the examples from the document. Two years of data had to show higher-than-average results, and with these results, PVH had to set new, even higher goals.  

Pappas specifically called out four achievements in which PVH is outperforming the national benchmarks: the high percentage of nurses who have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher; avoiding falls with injury in ambulatory settings; reducing the number of emergency department patients who leave without being seen; and unit-level data on patient engagement and patient-centered care.    

Future goals for the nursing program will focus on nurses continuing to lead through change and innovate using evidence-based practice and research, enhancing nurse well-being programs and working at the system level to improve initiatives regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Sixteen Colorado hospitals are among more than 600 hospitals across the world that are recognized as Magnet facilities. Other hospitals in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado designated as magnet facilities are Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland and Intermountain Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette.

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