Scripps La Jolla Receives Nursing's Highest Honor
First Hospital in San Diego to Achieve Prestigious Mark of Distinction
La Jolla, Calif. – Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla was notified today that it has received the prestigious Magnet Designation for excellence in patient care, a distinction conferred by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA). Scripps La Jolla becomes the first hospital in San Diego County to receive this honor and one of only five in California.
“I am exceptionally proud of the entire Scripps La Jolla team, for this demonstrates our commitment to excellence and philosophy of `doing the right thing,’” says Joan Burritt, DNSc, RN, chief nursing executive at Scripps La Jolla. “Our Magnet Designation is a testament to our philosophy and innovation in delivering patient-centered care.”
Gary G. Fybel, chief executive of Scripps La Jolla, said that achieving this designation places Scripps La Jolla in the top tier of U.S. hospitals. With nearly 6,000 hospitals in the United States, less than 2 percent have achieved Magnet Designation.
“Magnet Designation is not only a tremendous award for our nurses; it is a reflection of the teamwork of our clinical staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. By achieving this national recognition, we have demonstrated that our hospital staff is committed to the development and promotion of quality and excellence in our patient care practices,” Fybel said.
Designation as a Magnet hospital is recognition that Scripps La Jolla meets the highest standards of patient care and nursing practice, maintains exemplary staffing ratios, and attracts nurses, clinical staff and physicians by encouraging excellence, collegiality, collaboration, and professionalism. Magnet hospitals have shown better patient outcomes in study after study. The ANA chose the term “magnet” to describe a hospital’s ability to attract high-quality healthcare professionals because of a reputation that is among the finest in the nation.
Achieving Magnet status was a goal for Scripps La Jolla set by the Scripps Health Board of Trustees for 2005. Scripps La Jolla joins Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Children’s Hospital of Central California in Madera, UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange as the only California hospitals to achieve magnet status. Across the country, institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic are also magnet hospitals.
The Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Program, established in 1993, recognizes quality patient care and nursing excellence to provide patients with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive. For more information on the Magnet program, visit www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet.
Established in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla is a 372-bed acute care hospital and one of five hospitals in the Scripps Health system. Scripps La Jolla offers a wide range of medical and surgical services including a regional trauma center and 24-hour emergency services, intensive care, interventional cardiology and radiology, radiation oncology, cardiothoracic and orthopedic services, neurology, ophthalmology, and women’s health services. Among the specialty services and programs located on the Scripps La Jolla campus are: the Regional Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, Scripps Mericos Eye Institute, Scripps McDonald Center for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Treatment, Whittier Institute for Diabetes, Scripps Center for Executive Health, Gamma Knife Center of San Diego, and Scripps Polster Breast Care Center.