For Immediate Release
May 4, 2009

BUFFALO, NY − Nurses at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) are on a quest for distinction – striving to earn designation as a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the nation’s largest nursing accrediting and credentialing organization. Roswell Park celebrates National Nurses Week May 6 -12 by recognizing this outstanding effort.

Lisa Boris, RN, BSN, Assistant Director of Patient Care Services and Magnet Coordinator says, “This is the Nobel Prize for nursing.” In fact, designation as a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence is an honor earned by fewer than 5% of all hospitals in the U.S.

“It’s a rigorous process,” explains Ms. Boris. “For starters, members of the RPCI nursing staff are hard at work on a 3,500-page document that demonstrates how RPCI measures up in 20 different areas of nursing quality that the ANCC calls ‘forces of magnetism.’”

ANCC reviewers also want to see evidence that RPCI nurses understand their roles in the Institute’s mission and vision; that the administration listens to their ideas and fosters a collegial, collaborative atmosphere; that the Institute provides a safe and pleasant work environment for its nurses; and that the care they deliver contributes directly to the highest-quality care for patients.

Patients are the primary beneficiaries of the Magnet label, because it helps them identify hospitals where they’ll receive the best care. “In Magnet hospitals, patient outcomes are better, and their length of stay is shorter,” notes Maureen Kelly, RN, MS, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer, RPCI.

The Magnet seal of approval is also a beacon for talented nurses who are looking for the best places to work, and Ms. Boris notes that RPCI already has solid proof that it belongs in that category. “We have a waiting list of people who want to come here,” she says. One major attraction: the option of working three 12-hour days followed by four days off—an arrangement that grew from the nurses’ request for “a work-life balance.”

Mary Ann Long, RN, MS, Director of Patient Care Services and Magnet Coordinator at RPCI, says the waiting list includes both recent grads and nurses with extensive experience, who are drawn to RPCI by the emphasis on patient care. “Our nurse-to-patient ratios are excellent,” she explains, “which gives nurses the opportunity to spend time not only on quality care but also to educate patients and families about continued care outside the hospital. We build a partnership with the patient and have better outcomes as a result.”

Lisa Boris is confident Roswell Park will earn the designation, adding, “There’s nowhere better to go for cancer care than Roswell Park, and our nursing care reflects that. We already know that. We want everyone else to know it, too.”

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center. The Institute was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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