American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and Cerner Corporation Announce the 2010 Magnet Prize™ Winner - St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center

SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and Cerner Corporation, a global supplier of healthcare solutions, announced St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center of Paterson, NJ, as the winner of the 2010 Magnet Prize™ sponsored by Cerner Corporation at the National Magnet Conference® in Phoenix, AZ. This award recognizes innovative nursing programs and practices in ANCC Magnet-recognized organizations. Cerner encourages cutting-edge nursing programs and practices by sponsoring the $25,000 purse attached to the Magnet Prize. The prize money will be used to continue, advance, or disseminate the innovation that was selected for the Magnet Prize.

The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed to recognize healthcare organizations that provide the very best in nursing care and uphold the tradition of professional nursing practice. The Magnet Prize is awarded only to Magnet®-recognized organizations. Winning organizations must meet specific criteria such as extraordinary nursing activities that have been sustained over an extended period of time, innovations that are beyond the characteristics of Magnet organizations, and positive outcomes that have been demonstrated and empirically linked to the innovation.

The winning entry from St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center highlighted its Women's Heart Center, which was selected as a pioneer in the area of community outreach for its comprehensive educational programs geared toward women of all diverse backgrounds.

The Women's Heart Center was developed by two Advanced Practice Nurses, Carolyn Strimike, RN, MSN, CCRN, APN-C, and Margie Latrella, RN, MSN, APN-C, who provide education outreach programs in the community, comprehensive clinical assessments, and preventive screenings for heart disease in women of all ages and cultural backgrounds. This program offers women a coordinated approach to promoting their health and reducing their risk for heart disease and stroke.

The Center opened on October 1, 2005. Within the first year more than 1,700 women benefited from the comprehensive education programs. Of those 1,700 educated, 450 women were screened. Over the next four years and after several hundred community service outreaches, the number of women screened increased from 450 to more than 2,700, with a steady rise in the percentage of minority women.

The nursing team at the Women's Heart Center is tireless in their community outreach efforts. Outreach educational presentations are designed to increase women's awareness of their risk factors for heart disease and stroke, to provide strategies to reduce risk, to educate women about the signs of heart attack and stroke, and to explain the variety of diagnostic and treatment options available.

"We are honored to accept The Magnet Prize for our women's heart healthcare program," said Maria Brennan, MSN, RN, CPHQ – chief nursing officer for St. Joseph's Healthcare System and vice president for Patient Care Services at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. "Our unique program has tremendous potential to reduce the risk for heart disease and transform the lifestyles of women to promote health in our community."

"St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center is the perfect example of a Magnet organization that continuously raises the bar in developing structure and process for improving professional nursing practice and patient outcomes," said ANCC Executive Director Jeanne Floyd, PhD, RN, CAE. "The education they provide is invaluable, and their work has increased women's awareness of their risk factors for heart disease and stroke while providing strategies to reduce that risk."

"Cerner is proud to recognize the innovative work of the nurses at the Women's Heart Center who are making tremendous strides to expand knowledge of nursing practices and patient care incentives in their community," said Roy L. Simpson, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Cerner vice president of nursing. "This model for preventing cardiovascular disease can be applied to various nursing practice settings across the nation and has the potential to transform the way healthcare is delivered today."

About the Magnet Prize™

In 2002, the ANCC board of directors established the Magnet Prize™ to encourage the pursuit of excellence. The Magnet Prize recognizes organizations with unique programs where innovative action transforms nursing practice. The interventions and outcomes benefit the nursing profession as a whole, and have a direct impact on patients in various settings. This award serves as a means for acknowledging peak performance within credentialed Magnet organizations and is the highest honor ANCC bestows within the Magnet community. Cerner Corporation has sponsored the $25,000 award since 2007.

About St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center

A member of St. Joseph's Healthcare System, St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center is a 651-bed academic tertiary medical center and state designated trauma center that accepts the most complex and routine cases from other hospitals and physicians. St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center is staffed by nearly 900 board-certified physicians—many with multiple board certifications, approximately 180 medical residents and fellows, and an experienced clinical and administrative staff. Magnet-recognized for Nursing Excellence three consecutive times since 1999 and a leading recipient of Triple Gold Recognition for achievement in the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's "Get With The Guidelines" quality initiatives for Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Failure (Gold Plus) and Stroke (Gold Plus), St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center has received local, state, and national recognition for its innovative Women's Heart Center program. As a leading provider of charity care in the state, St. Joseph's continues to fulfill the mission, vision, and values set forth by its founders and sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. To learn more, please visit www.StJosephsHealth.org

About Cerner

Cerner is transforming healthcare by eliminating error, variance, and waste for healthcare providers and consumers around the world. Cerner® solutions optimize processes for healthcare organizations ranging in size from single-doctor practices to health systems to entire countries, for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, employer health and wellness services industry, and for the healthcare commerce system. These solutions are licensed by more than 8,500 facilities around the world, including approximately 2,300 hospitals; 3,400 physician practices covering more than 30,000 physicians; 600 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics, and surgery centers; 700 home-health facilities; and 1,500 retail pharmacies. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com.

About ANCC

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), provides individuals and organizations throughout the nursing profession with the resources they need to achieve practice excellence. ANCC's internationally renowned credentialing programs certify nurses in specialty practice areas; recognize healthcare organizations for promoting safe, positive work environments through the Magnet Recognition Program® and the Pathway to Excellence® Program; and accredits providers of continuing nursing education. In addition, ANCC's Institute for Credentialing Innovation® provides leading-edge information and education services and products to support its core credentialing programs. www.nursecredentialing.org

SOURCE St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center