Emory Johns Creek Hospital (EJCH) has received the prestigious Magnet® recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. The recognition is the most esteemed honor given to a health care organization for nursing excellence and patient outcomes.

"We’re so proud of this outstanding achievement after the extensive work, countless hours, and relentless dedication demonstrated by our incredible nurses, staff, physicians, and leadership team to provide world-class care in a community hospital," says Marilyn Margolis, MN, RN, NEA-BC, EJCH Chief Executive Officer.

About eight percent of U.S. health care organizations earn Magnet recognition. Georgia has only ten Magnet-recognized hospitals, including now four Emory Healthcare facilities: Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital. Magnet recognition is the gold standard for nursing excellence and is a factor when the public judges health care organizations.

U.S. News & World Report’s annual showcase of "America’s Best Hospitals" includes Magnet recognition in its ranking criteria for quality of inpatient care. To achieve Magnet recognition, organizations must submit an electronic application, written patient care documentation, hold an on-site three-day visit, and undergo review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition. The appraisers visited multiple areas of EJCH and spoke with more than 300 staff members during the site visit in January 2020.

The appraisers praised the work and commitment of the hospital and highlighted that it outperformed the national benchmark for the majority of eight consecutive quarters of data including:

100 percent of reporting inpatient units for nursing quality indicator, central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)

100 percent of reporting inpatient units for nursing quality indicator, hospital-acquired pressure injury stage II and above (HAPI > stage II)

100 percent of reporting ambulatory units for patient satisfaction with nursing courtesy and respect

100 percent of reporting ambulatory units for patient satisfaction with nursing safety

Throughout a rigorous and lengthy process, EJCH showed improvements in patient care, quality, and performance to achieve Magnet recognition.

"We’re so thankful to each and every nurse for your unwavering devotion to offer high quality medical care, a safer environment, and better patient outcomes to our community," says Heather Redrick, MHA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, EJCH Chief Nursing Officer and vice president of patient care services.

Trina Geyer, PhD, MSN, RN-BC, NEA-BC, director of the Magnet Recognition® program and manager of nursing support operations at EJCH credits widespread participation from staff and their extraordinary hard work to achieve this international honor.

"From the bedside to the boardroom, our nurses provided years’ worth of evidence and data to Magnet surveyors to illustrate nursing leadership, coordination and collaboration across various disciplines and processes to measure and improve our delivery of care," says Geyer.

As part of its four-year recognition, EJCH must maintain exceptional standards in nursing practices.  Upon its next review, the hospital will need to demonstrate evidence about how staff sustained patient satisfaction, lowered mortality rates, maintained high levels of staff engagement and higher job satisfaction among nurses and improved performance and quality over the next four years.