Amy Pettit had a lot of good news to share during a recent Schneck Medical Center board of trustees meeting.

First, the vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer said the Seymour hospital is going through the Magnet recertification process.

The Magnet Recognition Program designates organizations worldwide where nursing leaders successfully align their nursing strategic goals to improve the organization’s patient outcomes, according to nursingworld.org.

That provides a roadmap to nursing excellence, which benefits the whole of an organization, the website states. For nurses, the recognition means education and development through every career stage, which leads to greater autonomy at the bedside. For patients, it means the very best care delivered by nurses who are supported to be the very best they can be.

Schneck was designated as a Magnet organization in 2006, 2011 and 2016.

In August, Schneck submitted a document to be reviewed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for redesignation.

Pettit recently learned it only had four deficiencies and Schneck will move straight to the site visit, which is virtually from Jan. 25 to 27.

"Really, this is frankly unheard of," Pettit said. "Organizations typically do not go straight to site visit. Instead, they are asked to provide additional documentation, and we were not."

Pettit said Rachel Stangland, manager of surgical services and Magnet program coordinator for Schneck, was instrumental in pulling together all of the information that was needed to submit the document.

Pettit invited the board members and fellow Schneck leaders to participate in the three-day virtual site visit, and she said the public may make comments to the ANCC about Schneck and its nursing program.

"We would absolutely appreciate and welcome those comments," Pettit said.

Board President Rick Smith said it was great news to hear.

"I think we’re quite proud of the fact that we have a Magnet designation here certainly because that is something that is highly recognized throughout the country," he said.

Pettit also shared good news from Schneck’s diagnostic imaging department.

It was granted a three-year term of accreditation by the American College of Radiology and Mammography, which Pettit said is gold star recognition for the highest level of image quality and patient safety.

"So congratulations to them for the work that they’ve done in that area," she said.

Diagnostic imaging also received three-year accreditation for its GE LS Pro 16 Slice CT machine from the ACRM. That also is a gold standard.

"Every time you come in, you want to make sure that images are clear and that patients are safe, so fantastic work by them on what they do to make sure they are providing the highest quality of care," Pettit said.

Also, Schneck’s women and children unit received a perinatal level of care certificate from the Maternal and Child Health Division of the Indiana State Department of Health. The hospital was granted Level II for the obstetrical and neonatal care it offers.

"This is really critical for women who have high-risk pregnancies," Pettit said. "With this designation as a Level II, these moms and babies will be able to stay closer to home to receive the care that they need. Again, this really speaks volumes to the hospitalist group and the nursing staff who work upstairs to take care of these high-risk women and newborns, so I just want to congratulate them, as well."

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Schneck Medical Center in Seymour is applying for redesignation with the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program, which is a prestigious designation that recognizes excellence in nursing services.

Patients, family members, staff and interested parties who would like to provide comments are encouraged to do so via email or mail. They must be received by the Magnet program office by Jan. 13.

All comments are confidential and are not shared with the health care organization. Comments may be anonymous, but they must be sent in writing to the Magnet program office.

Email comments to [email protected] or mail comments to American Nurses Credentialing Center, Magnet Recognition Program Office, 8515 Georgia Ave., Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3492.

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