A Journey to Excellence


In 2020, Maury Regional Medical Center achieved Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Magnet program recognizes quality patient care, nursing excellence and professional practice. It serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence. With this credential, Maury Regional Medical Center joins a select group of only 509 Magnet-recognized hospitals in the U.S. and is one of only five Magnet-designated organizations in the state.

Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and their communities, including:

  • Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help and receipt of discharge information
  • Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue rates
  • Higher job satisfaction among nurses
  • Improved nursing recruitment and retention

To achieve Magnet recognition, Maury Regional Medical Center passed a rigorous and lengthy process that demanded widespread participation from leadership and staff. This process included an electronic application, written patient care documentation, an on-site visit and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition. The organization was also recognized for nine exemplars, including workforce, community health, quality outcomes, safety initiatives and patient satisfaction.

 

Our journey to becoming a Magnet facility began by being the first hospital in Tennessee to be designated as a Pathway to Excellence facility by the ANCC. 

Why Magnet?

There are numerous reasons to pursue this designation. Some of the primary ones are listed below:

  • Focuses on quality outcomes
  • Supports patient-centered care
  • Provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive
  • Research by L. Aiken, PhD, FAAN, FRCN, RN shows Magnet facilities outperform peers in recruiting and retaining nurses

The environment in a Magnet facility benefits both patients and staff. Some of those benefits include:

Patients:

  • Enhanced safety mechanisms and practices
  • Improved clinical outcomes
  • Higher patient satisfaction
  • Decrease in healthcare acquired infections
  • Lower complication rates
  • Lower mortality rates/ morbidity rates
  • Increased loyalty to the organization

Staff:

  • Higher workplace satisfaction
  • Higher job satisfaction
  • Engagement in daily professional practice
  • Governance over own practice
  • Retention and recruitment of skilled clinicians
  • Professional development program/opportunities
  • Enhanced working relationships with all departments and disciplines

 

Awards and Grants

MAURY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER ACHIEVES MAGNET® RECOGNITION

Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) has achieved Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a reflection of the organization’s nursing professionalism, teamwork and superiority in patient care.

Magnet distinction is the highest national credential for nursing excellence that serves as the gold standard for nursing practice. With this credential, MRMC joins the select group of only 509 Magnet-recognized hospitals in the U.S. and is one of only five Magnet-designated organizations in the state.

“Achieving Magnet recognition reinforces the culture of excellence that is a cornerstone in how we serve our community,” said Maury Regional Health CEO Alan Watson. “I commend every member of our nursing team on achieving this prestigious designation. Their dedication to evidence-based practices and patient care is reflected in this achievement.”

Not only did MRMC receive Magnet status, but the organization was also recognized for nine exemplars, including workforce, community health, quality outcomes, safety initiatives and patient satisfaction.

“Achieving this success is a testament to the organization’s commitment to outstanding patient care,” said MRMC Chief Nursing Officer Deborah Lumpkins, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. “During this time of heightened public health concern caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the public can rest assured that they are in excellent hands with the nursing and care teams at Maury Regional Medical Center.”

Research demonstrates that Magnet recognition provides specific benefits to health care organizations and their communities, including:

  • Higher patient satisfaction with nurse communication, availability of help and receipt of discharge information
  • Lower risk of 30-day mortality and lower failure to rescue rates
  • Higher job satisfaction among nurses
  • Improved nursing recruitment and retention

To achieve Magnet recognition, MRMC passed a rigorous and lengthy process that demanded widespread participation from leadership and staff. This process included an electronic application, written patient care documentation, an on-site visit and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition. The application process for MRMC was led by Lumpkins and Director of Nursing Professional Development Sue MacArthur.

Recognized as the number one hospital in the state for medical excellence in overall hospital care by CareChex®, an information service of Quantros, Inc., MRMC has been nationally recognized and awarded. In 2011 and in 2017, MRMC received the ANCC’s Pathway to Excellence designation, which demonstrates a commitment to creating an environment where nurses excel and feel valued as integral members of multidisciplinary health care teams.

“We take pride in our dedication to nursing excellence and evidence-based practice that is at the core of our organization,” Lumpkins said. “Our commitment to continual learning extends beyond the walls of the medical center. Nurses present at national conferences, hold professional association leadership roles and donate their time, talents and resources to our community. I am proud of the opportunity to work among such a talented nursing team.”

MRMC Critical Care recognized with silver Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on the Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Critical Care Unit in January 2019. MRMC is one of only three hospitals in Tennessee with this honor. 

The Beacon Award for Excellence is a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments that recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.

"This recognition is reflective of the commitment of our Critical Care team to provide outstanding, evidence-based care to our patients facing critical illnesses," said Chief Nursing Officer Deborah Lumpkins, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. "I am immensely proud of the nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other specialists who work together as a multidisciplinary team to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients."

AACN President Clareen Wiencek, RN, PhD, ACNP, ACHPN, applauds the commitment of caregivers at MRMC for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence. These dedicated health care professionals join other members of the exceptional community of nurses who set the standard for optimal patient care.

“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes," Wiencek said. "Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care."

Pictured are members of the steering committee for the Beacon Award program at MRMC, including (l-r) Jackie Miles, Renee Tew, Jennifer Spencer, Cathy Malone, Natasha Holt, Theresa Harris, Milinda Cothran, Amanda Carroll, Jennifer Hartsfield, Beth Bradshaw and Ginger Dickens.

MRH receives federal funds to reduce hospital readmission rates

Maury Regional Health (MRH) was awarded $928,878 in Civil Money Penalty funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its post-acute care network (PACN), a program established by MRH in 2018 to bring together skilled nursing facilities in southern Middle Tennessee to enhance the continuum of care.

The Civil Money Penalty funds MRH received will be used to reduce hospital readmissions through infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship and rapid responses to changes in patients’ conditions. The PACN will provide quarterly reports to CMS over the course of this three-year project that analyze these priority areas and the associated cost savings achieved.

MRMC earns BAby-Friendly designation

In April 2018, Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) received an international recognition as a designated Baby-Friendly organization. 

For more than two years, a team of perinatal nurses and lactation consultants worked on the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding as demonstrated by quality processes to achieve this designation. This award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

MRMC partners with Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee

In August 2018, perinatal nurses and lactation consultants at Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) worked to partner with the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee to serve as a donation site for mothers’ milk to be processed by the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Austin, Texas.  

In the last year, 4,302 ounces of donated milk have been sent to be processed and used in neonatal intensive care units throughout Tennessee. This milk decreases the number of life-threatening infections in newborns and provides nourishment for premature infants when their mothers are unable to produce milk as needed.