What Makes a Magnet Nurse?

A Magnet Nurse is a champion for patients - and the reason we've been redesignated as the region's only Magnet hospital.

Want to see a photo journal of our team celebrating Magnet or learn more about the designation? Click here.

For four years, you’ve heard “We are Magnet!” And, you’ll continue to hear it for another four years. We recently received the highest honor for nursing care—again—from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Magnet designation means we provide a professional environment that “attracts” the nation’s best nurses to care for patients, giving them the ultimate benchmark to measure care. Now, through a 5,000-page application and rigorous site inspection, we proved that we take nursing care to even higher levels as champions for our patients.

We are among less than 4 percent of hospitals nationwide to achieve Magnet, and the only in the Lehigh Valley. What makes us stand out? “Nurses have the resources and support they need to put patients first,” says Terry Capuano, R.N., senior vice president of clinical services. “They have oppurtunities for professional development, research and a voice in decisions.” Learn why we say: A Magnet for great nurses is a Magnet for patients.

Magnet Nurses are...

Patient Advocates
When LVH–Cedar Crest emergency department nurse Mary Jo Moerkirk, R.N. (above), learned her patient had to cancel his trip to see his son, she wanted to help. Marty Coyne (left) of Bloomsburg and his wife, Lisa, planned to visit Erik (right) in Colorado before he was deployed to Iraq. But, Marty’s severe throat infection meant they’d have to delay their trip and pay airline fees a second time. Moerkirk called the airline without luck. So, she contacted U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s office. His staff got the Coynes on a later flight and into first class. “Mary Jo went above and beyond,” Marty says.

Researchers
As a mother, Julie Fulcher, R.N., wondered why they didn’t give Pedialyte to emergency pediatric patients with diarrhea, as she does with her own daughter, Carlie (center). The protocol for nurses was to rehydrate children through an IV, resulting in crying children and frustrated parents. So, Fulcher took action. She researched evidence-based literature and discovered oral hydration is just as effective. She presented her findings to an interdisciplinary team, and together, they developed a new protocol. Now she and emergency department nurses are educating parents like those of our daycare students (pictured).

Experts
James Zimmerman of Topton (left) arrived in the emergency department at LVH–17th and Chew after passing out. When Judy Post, R.N. (right), examined him, she felt a pulsating mass in his abdomen. It wasn’t like anything she had ever felt, but she knew it was a life-threatening abdominal aortic aneurysm. She immediately told emergency physician John Wheary, M.D., and within minutes Zimmerman was in surgery. Today, Zimmerman is healthy and enjoying life. And, Wheary credits Post for saving Zimmerman’s life.

Specialists
Brett Bonney (left) was 6 months old when he was diagnosed with leukemia. For nearly two years, his parents traveled to Philadelphia for Brett’s chemotherapy. Then the Bonneys of Easton found the only local nurses who specialize in caring for children with cancer. Nurses like Karen Ritter, R.N., and Annmarie Steber, R.N. (right), gave the Bonneys hope and a shoulder to cry on. Brett, now 6, never needed a bone marrow transplant and has been in remission for four years. He says: “I love my nurses.”

Collaborators
As part of a nationally unique initiative, labor and delivery nurses meet with a team of specialists daily to learn about every mom in case they are needed in her care. If nurses believe care can be improved, they consult with a maternal-fetal medicine physician and develop a plan. It helps prepare for emergencies, like that of Kimberly Guerriere (front right) of Bangor. Laurie Griesel, R.N. (standing), was closely monitoring Guerriere and her baby during a long 12 hours when she discovered a problem: the baby’s heartbeat was dangerously low. The culprit: the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck twice, and contractions were causing it to constrict. Griesel alerted the team, and within minutes, Guerriere had an emergency C-section. Today, she and her husband, Rob (front left), have a healthy girl, Julia.

Savvy With Technology
As the sun goes down, critical care nurse John Collins, R.N., sits in front of computers in the advanced intensive care unit at 2166 S. Lehigh St. He is an extra set of eyes intently watching critical care patients in the hospital. With the help of crisp video and sound equipment and MetaVision, which gives real-time information about patients, he monitors trends in patients’ vital signs and anticipates problems. If there is a warning sign, he helps bedside nurses intervene. This technology allows bedside nurses to spend an extra hour (per 12-hour shift) with patients and helps prevent many life-threatening situations.

Community Leaders
Inspired by what she saw during mission trips to Liberia, Mable Humphrey, R.N. (bottom row, second from left), led an effort to build a clinic to help hundreds of people in the war-torn African nation. With help from the congregation at Greater Shiloh Church in Easton (some members pictured), this Liberian community now had a clinic with clean sheets, staff who treated patients with dignity and a higher level of care. When bombing from the civil war destroyed the clinic, Humphrey led an effort to build an even bigger and better clinic. Newly elected president of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf heard about Humphrey’s leadership, and personally invited her and the Shiloh team to her inauguration.

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