Exeter Hospital Recognized for Nursing Excellence

Today Exeter Hospital became a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the world's largest and most prestigious nurse credentialing organization, and a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association. 

The ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes health care organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Achieving Magnet status places Exeter among the top seven percent of hospitals nationwide for providing consistently high quality nursing care to patients; and among only three other hospitals in the state of New Hampshire (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center, and St. Joseph’s Hospital, both in Nashua) to have received the designation. 

"This prestigious accomplishment is the result of unwavering dedication by our nursing staff to consistently provide exemplary care to our patients and affirms our organization’s commitment to advancing the practice of nursing,” said Susan Burns-Tisdale, MPH, RN, NEA-BC, senior vice president, Clinical Operations and chief nurse executive at Exeter Hospital. “The recognition is a testament to the collaborative culture we have fostered among our nurses, medical staff and support staff. We are proud to be part of a select group of hospitals across the country to have received Magnet designation.” 

Exeter Hospital has been participating in a rigorous, multi-year Magnet application process since 2010 when it first filed its intent with the ANCC to be considered for Magnet designation.  The final application was accepted last fall and a team of nurse appraisers from the ANCC conducted an intensive, three-day site visit at the hospital in December. After reviewing the application documents and the results of the site visit, the appraisal team determined Exeter Hospital meets all of the requirements to achieve Magnet status. 

"Exeter Hospital embraces the Relationship Based Care team approach to patient care,” said Karen Richards,DNP, RN, NE-BC, Magnet Program director at Exeter Hospital. "Our culture is one of shared governance, allowing direct care nurses to assume leadership roles on and to participate in councils and committees designed to promote best practices and to improve patient care.”

"We take seriously our commitment to provide quality care to our patients and to maintain a positive, collaborative practice environment for our nursing staff,” said Kevin Callahan, President and CEO of Exeter Hospital. “Receiving Magnet designation is representative of this commitment, and is the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration to develop a culture where our nurses,
providers, clinicians, and support staff thrive and our patients genuinely feel as though they are being cared for by a member of their own family.”

The Magnet Recognition Program® was initially developed as the result of research that revealed a link between characteristics of hospitals that attract and retain highly trained nurses and those that achieve exceptional outcomes for quality of care, patient safety and patient satisfaction. The research showed commonalities between these hospitals include settings that support professional practice, promote best practices among nursing, and demonstrate a commitment to excellence in the delivery of nursing services to patients.