Scripps Hospital Receives Highest Nursing Designation

Scripps La Jolla Credentialed as a Magnet® hospital for the third time

La jollausn

Scripps La Jolla Credentialed as a Magnet® hospital for the third time

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla has again attained Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a designation that represents the “gold standard” for nursing excellence. Only 6 percent of the nation’s 6,000 health care organizations currently have the credential.


“Receiving this four-year designation for a third time is a tremendous accomplishment resulting from the hard work and dedication of our staff,” said Cindy Steckel, RN, vice president and chief nursing and operations executive at Scripps La Jolla. “For patients, this honor highlights our commitment to provide the highest quality care while promoting the highest level of nursing excellence.”


Scripps La Jolla, which employs 980 nurses, was the first facility in San Diego County to be recognized as a Magnet hospital in 2005. The hospital was recertified in 2010.


“Magnet redesignation reflects on everyone at Scripps, underscoring the collaborative efforts of all of our nurses, physicians and staff members to strive every day to improve the services we deliver,” said Gary Fybel, chief executive of the hospital. “Ten years of Magnet credentialing has helped to make us an even better care provider.”

Designation required rigorous review

As the highest honor that an organization can receive for professional nursing practice, Magnet recognition is used by a number groups, such as U.S. News & World Report, to judge and compare the performance of health care organizations, according to the ANCC, which is the leading nursing credentialing organization in the United States.


Scripps La Jolla maintained its Magnet designation following a rigorous evaluation process that included the submission of 1,000 pages of written documentation in June 2014, a five-day site visit by Magnet appraisers in last August and a review of the document and site visit summaries by the Commission on Magnet Recognition, which decides whether to award Magnet status.


Scripps La Jolla offers a number of professional development opportunities for nurses, including tuition reimbursement and scholarships, committee involvement, continuing education hours, support for attendance and presentations at national conferences, assistance with national certifications and an onsite degree program. Nurses are encouraged to participate in shaping professional nursing practice through committee engagement, research utilization and community involvement.


The Magnet Recognition Program, established in 1993, recognizes quality patient care and nursing excellence to provide patients and hospitals with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive. For more information about the Magnet program, visit www.nursingcredentialing.org.


Learn more about Scripps Health, a nonprofit integrated health system in San Diego, Calif.

Media Contact

Keith Darce
858-678-7121

Related tags: