JCMC Nursing Annual Report - Mountain States Health Alliance

Magnet Redesignation
When Johnson City Medical Center was named
a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center in 2005, it was the first
hospital in the state to receive that prized distinction.
Since that time, only Vanderbilt Medical Center
in Nashville has also received the honor of being
recognized as one of the state’s top places for a nurse
to work.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, JCMC achieved
Magnet designation for a second time.
“The commission on Magnet was very impressed
with the great work done at Johnson City Medical
Center and Quillen Rehabilitation Hospital, and as
a result of some outstanding work, the Commission
voted unanimously to redesignate Johnson City
Medical Center as a Magnet organization,”
said Karen Drenkard, director of the Magnet
Recognition Program. “When you reach the level
that redesignation demonstrates, it shows such
commitment, and it’s very, very difficult to have
sustained effort toward quality. The excellence in
patient care that was demonstrated at Johnson City
Medical Center makes the community very fortunate
to have such a team.”
The ANCC is the arm of the American Nurses
Association, and Magnet status is the ANCC’s
highest honor. It is also considered one of the
highest possible levels of achievement for a medical
facility on any level. The award is bestowed only
after criteria from a book of standards are in place,
evidence is gathered to support the claim, review of
written responses is complete and an on-site, threeday
visit by a team of Magnet appraisers has taken
place. A Magnet hospital is the gold standard in
patient care and the highest honor of excellence, and
only around 2 percent of the 6,000 hospitals in the
United States have earned the title.
As the news was delivered to more than 100 nurses
and administrators gathered together inside
Niswonger Children’s Hospital, President and CEO
Dennis Vonderfecht said he was again filled with
pride for the work of the nurses inside the hospital.
“We are very honored. This is truly exciting knowing
we were the first hospital in the state to receive the
designation in 2005, and to know we are now the
only hospital in Tennessee to earn the redesignation.
The nursing staff at Johnson City Medical Center
truly is bringing loving care to each and every one of
its patients,” Vonderfecht said.
Candace Jennings, MSHA senior vice president of
Tennessee operations and a registered nurse, said,
“This is a reflection of something we already know,
and that is our nurses are wonderful and make The
MSHA Difference.”
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