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Palomar Pomerado Health System Achieves National Recognition for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 10:00 CDT

CEP America's Longest-Standing Client Congratulates Emergency Department Nurses for Role in Prestigious Designation

EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- CEP America, one of the nation's largest providers of emergency department (ED) management and staffing solutions, announced today that its client, Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) system, has achieved Magnet(R) recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Only five percent of U.S. hospitals have received this prestigious designation.

To earn Magnet recognition, which is considered the highest honor for nursing service excellence, organizations undergo a vigorous, multi-faceted evaluation. The ANCC evaluated PPH's nursing standards for improving the quality of patient care, providing for patient safety and reducing turnover in the work environment. Independent studies of Magnet hospitals have shown that these institutions have shorter lengths of patient stays, higher rates of patient satisfaction, lower patient mortality rates and increased nurse retention rates.

"The emergency department nurses in any hospital are in incredibly challenging positions because of the inherent focus on rapid response in urgent situations, which can limit opportunities to get to know the individual patient," said Kim Colonnelli, RN, Chief Nursing Officer of Pomerado Hospital and District Administrator, Emergency and Trauma Services at PPH.

Nursing excellence is demonstrated consistently by taking the time to talk to patients and colleagues, being mindful of cultural and linguistic diversities and looking for opportunities to teach others or further educate themselves," said Colonnelli. "The Magnet recognition process allowed our ED nurses to truly embrace the challenges and opportunities that occur on a daily basis and it helped remind them why they became nurses in the first place."

CEP America partners with emergency department leaders in the PPH system (Palomar Medical Center and Pomerado Hospital) to foster a shared approach to decision-making. The two acute care hospitals treat a combined average of 7,300 patients each month in the emergency departments.

Achieving Magnet recognition involved a five-year, system-wide effort to achieve excellence in the 191 standards, including efforts to maximize operations, increase efficiency among team members, as well as provide opportunities for nurses to perform volunteer work, conduct educational travel and learn about different cultures. The experiences were turned into "Magnet Moments" - opportunities to improve relationships with patients. Each department identified Magnet Champions who helped foster the improvement of patient experiences by enhancing collaborations between nurses, physicians and administrators.

PPH is the first public health system in California to achieve this prestigious honor system-wide, throughout all of its facilities.

"It has been so rewarding to play a role in Palomar Pomerado Health's remarkable growth through our continuing partnership," said Dr. Wesley Curry, president and chief executive officer of CEP America. "We extend our deepest congratulations to the Palomar Pomerado Health system and its community on this achievement."

About Palomar Pomerado Health

PPH is a recipient of a statewide Baldrige award and was recently named by Modern Healthcare as one of the top 100 healthcare organizations to work for in the U.S. California's largest public health district is North County's most comprehensive healthcare delivery system, nationally recognized for clinical excellence in cardiac care, women's services, cancer, orthopedics, trauma, rehabilitation and behavioral health services. As the largest employer in Inland North County, with more than 3,600 employees and 700 physicians, PPH was named San Diego County's Best Place to Work in 2006. Facilities include Palomar Medical Center, Pomerado Hospital, Villa Pomerado, Palomar Continuing Care Center, and Palomar Pomerado Home Health. For more information, please visit www.pph.org.

About CEP America

Founded in 1975, CEP America is the national partnership practice model of California Emergency Physicians (CEP) Medical Group. They are a premier provider of physician staffing, management, and consulting services for nearly 70 Emergency Department and Ambulatory Care Practices in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Washington and Oregon. For more information, visit www.cepamerica.com.

SOURCE CEP America

Source: PR Newswire

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