The award-winning nurses at Children’s Memorial
are Magnetic!
Children's Memorial became the first freestanding children's hospital in the
country and the first hospital in Illinois to be designated as a Magnet hospital
by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. This is the highest accreditation
conferred for nursing excellence. Initial designation was received in 2001 and
was reconfirmed in 2005. Less than 3 percent of U.S. hospitals have achieved
and/or maintained this distinction.
Widely considered the equivalent of an Olympic gold medal in sports, the
Magnet award first granted in 1994, is now the most sought-after nation-wide
award known in the field of hospital nursing.
"In an environment rife with controversy about patient safety in hospitals,
medical error rates, and nursing shortages, consumers need to know how good the
care is at their local hospitals. Nursing's single most effective mechanism for
providing that type of comparative information, a seal of approval for quality
nursing care, is designation as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing
Center." (Aiken, L.H, 2000)*
The Magnet program recognizes those hospital
facilities that foster an environment that attracts and retains competent nurses through respect
for the values, art, and science of nursing. Magnet hospitals allow
nurses to focus on patients, resulting in positive outcomes
that can be directly attributed to nursing care.
The Children's Memorial Nursing Department and staff were recognized for
seven exemplar characteristics: nursing autonomy, commitment and resources for
professional development, high-quality interdisciplinary relationships,
availability of supports for wholistic patient care, establishment of an Endowed
Chair for Nursing Practice Excellence, outstanding nursing research, a strong
community service culture, and an exceptional image of nursing as competent,
confident and committed professionals.
"We are very proud to be recognized as having one of the top nursing
departments in the country," said Chief Nurse Executive Michelle Stephenson, RN,
MSN.
Hear how Children's Memorial nurses describe the pride they have in their
nursing practice and careers. Come see why the nurses are nationally recognized
for their delivery of quality family centered care and are proud to be a
professional nurse at Children's Memorial Hospital. Come join
our team and learn why
"Children's Memorial nurses are Magnetic."
*Source: Aiken, L.H., Havens, D.S. & Sloane, D.M. (2000). The magnet
nursing recognition program: A comparison of two groups of magnet hospitals,
AJN, 100(3), 25-35.
Barbara Cunningham, RN, ENPC, TNPC Certified, Resource Team
Nurses at Children's Memorial Hospital have a strong voice in forming
policies that benefit patients, families and healthcare workers. As you walk the
halls at the hospital, you can see the pride and affection that the nurses have
for the patients that they deal with.
A vast and resourceful support staff is available for patients and their
families. New ideas and programs are continually being developed to assist in
making the hospital stay easier.
Craig LaRusso, Transport Team
An hour or two is sometimes all that I have with a sick child and his family.
These are intense moments filled with nervous questions, sweating palms,
quivering lips and shaking hands. Mom is frightened and her eyes well up with
tears. Dad asks guarded questions, trying to hold it together.
Intersecting with a family in crisis has been a part of what I have been
doing for 22 years. For the last seven, it has been on the Transport Team. For a
brief time I become a part of a family's story. And, whatever ending is given to
their story, I find great reward and satisfaction in what we do during our part
of that story.
Harriet S. Hawkins, RN, CCRN, FAEN, Clinical and Organizational
Development
In the fall of 1980, I left a staff position to work for a critical care
nursing agency full time. I worked in adult critical care, but at one point the
agency wanted to send me to Children's Memorial to work in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit. I'll admit it; I felt rather threatened by the thought of
smaller patients, but after three days without work, I decided that I would try
the assignment.
Talk about feeling helpless! I truly felt out of place and wondered how I
would make it through 12 hours. My preceptor was wonderful! She guided me
through the day, offering encouragement and information and answering my many
questions. I was amazed and touched by the way the family was included in the
care of infants. As my shift came to an end, I had fallen in love with the
patients and the NICU. By the end of the summer the director offered me a job
and the rest is history. I came on staff at Children's Memorial in August 1982.
I feel fortunate to have found a hospital that provides the same care to
children and families that I would want for my own son.
Cynthia Paidipati, RN, BSN, 4 West
It only takes a split second for parents —devastated by the shattering
reality of their child's new diagnosis of cancer — to see in a nurse's face and
expressed in her actions, the staff member's genuine care and concern and know
that the nurse, too, is deeply invested in their child's care.
It only takes a moment for a child dying of cancer to feel a nurse's hand and
know that she is doing everything in her power to soothe, comfort and care. It
only takes a single moment for a stressed-out co-worker to hear a colleague
asking if she is OK and know that she will receive a helping hand if needed. I
am able to be this nurse because I work at Children's Memorial Hospital.
Janice Nuuhiwa, RN, MSN, CPON, Staff Development Specialist,
Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant Division
When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I am a professional
cheerleader at Children's Memorial Hospital. As the staff development specialist
in Hematology/Oncology and Transplantation, my proudest moments are when the
nurses that I have worked with call me to share their successes.
Staff development is about assisting each nurse in defining professional
development for themselves and then creatively motivating the nurse into acting
upon that recently discovered opportunity. It's about helping them to achieve
what they thought they could not. How many other people get to share in the joy
of so many accomplishments that benefit so many people? Now that's what I call
an opportunity of a lifetime!
Marge Maieritsch, RN, BSN; Pat Grapenthien, RN, BSN; and Joann Heim, RN,
CPN, KIDS DOC
The KIDS DOC nurses are a unique and integral part in the current state of
instant information. Each of our nurses comes with various pediatric backgrounds
— from inside and outside of Children's Memorial Hospital. Before coming to
referral nursing, our nurses lifted spirits, touched the souls of families and
afffected lives through their careers. The combination of vast experience over
many years, mastery of skills and department policies and procedures, help
create the heart of health care service coordinating.
Roberta Nadel, RN, Ambulatory Services
While I was in nursing school, I rotated to various hospitals, never finding
one that matched my personality. That is, until my final rotation —pediatrics at
Children's Memorial Hospital.
I knew from my first clinical day at the hospital that I wanted to work here.
The interaction between the nurses and patients was phenomenal.
Kathryn Owen, RN, BSN, Nursing Informatics
It is clear to me how we differ from other institutions when I attend classes
each week for my master's degree. When others talk about the difficulties they
encounter within their respective institutions I think, “Wow! I am supported in
most everything I do; from my master's degree to my professional growth within
the institution.” Very few places give as much respect and support to the
nursing staff
Karen Richey, RN, MBA, Director, 3West/Epilepsy Center
I started my nursing career at Children's Memorial fresh out of college in
the summer of 1988. The best thing about being a nurse at a Magnet institution
is experiencing the support and respect that exists so that nurses can reach
their full potential while providing the very best family centered care.
In my role as a director, I can touch the lives of patients and families in a
different way. Because I have been supported by the hospital to develop in my
career, I have the opportunity to coach, mentor and support and listen to those
reporting through me. I feel proud to hear the many comments from families about
how wonderful the nurses are.
Terri
Halverson, RN, BSN, Ambulatory Stem Cell Unit
The clinical governance structure at Children's Memorial provides the perfect
opportunity for nurses to have a voice in shaping their own clinical practice.
When I came to the hospital, my goals included expanding my transplant knowledge
base and providing excellent care. I never dreamed I would one day initiate,
complete and publicly speak about nursing research and evidence-based practice.
This, to me, encapsulates what nursing at Children's Memorial is all about:
meeting —and then — exceeding professional goals.