"We're extremely pleased to again be receiving designation as a Magnet hospital, as it is acknowledged to be one of the health care community's highest honors," said William F. Streck, M.D., President and CEO of Bassett Healthcare. "This designation recognizes continued and consistent quality patient care, which have always been the primary focus of our nurses as well as the entire organization."

Hospitals are rigorously evaluated on 14 standards by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the division of the ANA that bestows Magnet Recognition, which are based on quality indicators and standards of nursing practice.

The organization must submit narratives and exhibits that demonstrate compliance with the standards. Once these documents are reviewed by the ANCC, hospitals must score in the range of excellence to be awarded a site visit. During the site visit, a large number of people are interviewed from throughout the organization from housekeepers to executives, to patients and their families, in order to provide commentary to the Magnet Commission during the evaluation process.

"Sustained Magnet recognition is especially meaningful at this time, as the standards to reach Magnet status have been significantly raised," said Connie Jastremski, R.N., Chief Nursing Officer at Bassett Healthcare. "Standards for quality and safety programs, community partnerships, research and evidenced-based programs, along with multidisciplinary team work, were reviewed by the Magnet Commission, and we were determined to have met or surpassed these standards."

Through the Magnet Recognition Program, the ANCC promotes excellence in nursing services, acknowledges hospitals that deliver the highest level of care and provides a forum to share the best practices in nursing. According to the ANCC, the Magnet Recognition Program recognizes quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice, and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive.

Bassett Healthcare

Bassett Healthcare and affiliates is a system of physicians, providers, five hospitals, 25 community health centers and 13 school-based health centers in eight counties, covering 5,000 square miles. The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (doing business as Bassett Healthcare), the foundation for this network, is a 180-bed, acute care inpatient teaching facility in Cooperstown. The Bassett Clinic is located on the same campus as the hospital and provides outpatient primary and specialty care.