Source: Storynory.com
For a long time, I was disappointed in the Leap Frog Group, the consortium of businesses that sought to leverage its clout to improve the quality and safety of health care. They set standards for health care organizations to meet but initially failed to include nurse-sensitive indicators of quality. While they have made some progress on this over the years, the Institute of Medicine‘s report on The Future of Nursing appears to have informed Leap Frog’s decision to include Magnet designation as an indicator of quality. This designation is bestowed by the American Nurses Credentialling Center, an affiliate of the American Nurses Association. It is an indication of excellence in nursing care. While not a perfect process, it is the best method we have to determine whether a hospital is providing high quality, safe nursing care. Since patients are admitted to hospital because they need nursing care (most are treated on an outpatient basis if 24-hour nursing care is not needed), Magnet designation is often times a proxy for overall excellence in patient care. Nice to see the Leap Frog Group leap forward.
Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, Rudin Professor of Nursing, CHMP Co-Director
