Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital is first in Massachusetts to earn Magnet with Distinction

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital first received Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, in 2019. On Friday, March 22, 2024, members of the Department of Nursing, Patient Care Services and senior leaders gathered to listen in as the Commission on Magnet shared the news that the hospital has been re-designated—this time designated as Magnet with Distinction!

According to the representative from the Commission on Magnet, BWFH is one of just four hospitals in the world to hold Magnet with Distinction and the first in Massachusetts. Magnet with Distinction, a new designation that went into effect with the 2023 Magnet Application Manual, is a special designation recognizing the highest performing Magnet organizations around the world. BWFH is also the first within the Mass General Brigham system to achieve this honor. Fewer than 10 percent of hospitals in the United States have earned Magnet designation, including just 15 hospitals in Massachusetts.

“The Magnet Recognition Program is viewed around the world as the gold standard of nursing excellence and high-quality patient care delivered by an entire organization that leads to the highest levels of safety, quality and patient satisfaction. Magnet with Distinction celebrates hospitals that exceed the scoring thresholds required to attain Magnet designation. It means we are among the top-tier organizations in the world when it comes to nursing excellence,” explains Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Karen Reilly, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC. “To be recognized as a Magnet hospital with Distinction lets the world know what we have known for a long time—that we provide an exceedingly high level of care to our patients and their families here at BWFH. It’s an accomplishment that could not be possible without the collaboration of our colleagues throughout the hospital.”

In addition to earning Magnet with Distinction, BWFH was also recognized with an impressive 11 exemplars. These include the hospital’s commitment to patient-centered care and evidence-based practice, with exemplars for:

• Patient outcome data, including surgical errors, burns and medical device related pressure injuries
• Patient experience data, including multiple exemplars in both inpatient (patient education and patient engagement/patient-centered) and all four ambulatory categories (care coordination, careful listening, courtesy and respect and patient education)
• Clinical nurses implementing an evidence-based practice of a nurse-driven protocol for early palliative care consults in the Intensive Care Unit
• BWFH’s high percentage of bachelor’s, or higher, prepared nurses

About the Magnet Recognition Program

The Magnet Recognition Program designates organizations worldwide where nursing leaders successfully align their nursing strategic goals to improve the organization’s patient outcomes. The Magnet Recognition Program provides a roadmap to nursing excellence, which benefits the whole of an organization. To nurses, Magnet Recognition means education and development through every career stage, which leads to greater autonomy at the bedside. To patients, it means the very best care, delivered by nurses who are supported to be the best that they can be.

Published 3/25/24; updated 3/26/24