Kim Zolnier 30 Jan 07 2:00 PM MST The Magnetism force of community and the hospital is described as the hospital having a strong presence in the community. The hospital is also committed to continuing outreach programs that are important to the citizens of the community (American Nurses Credentialing Center, n.d.). My current organization has both Pediatric Asthma and Pediatric Diabetes outreach programs. Staff members of these programs go to the schools to educate the students and teachers on asthma and diabetes. They also provide teaching to patients with these diagnoses. These programs as well as the camps are popular programs and there are many requests for school visits. However, staff and funding cuts are slowly diminishing these programs. The asthma van has been out of commission for a few years. With the most recent staff cuts there are no longer enough people to make the school visits. Both the asthma and diabetes camps were shortened to one day last year and may not occur this year. There is also a Pediatric Outreach department that that has programs for both the medical and general community. For the general community there is Safe Kids which includes car seat checks, bike helmet safety, and water safety. There is an educational component to this for the medical community. It includes Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and a basic pediatric course for other facilities that care for pediatric patients. PALS and NRP are offered in our hospital and all of the programs are available for other facilities. The Pediatric Outreach Department is still going strong and should continue as long as the children’s hospital remains. The Asthma and Diabetes programs are run through a different department which is rapidly losing support from the hospital. While this organization does have a strong presence in the community that presence is slowly decreasing as the organization is moving away from pediatrics. Therefore there is not much to be done to keep the hospital in alignment with this force. Reference: American Nurses Credentialing Center (n.d.). Introduction to the Magnet recognition program for students of nursing. Retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.ana.org/ancc/magnet/forms/StudentManual.pdf . Margaret Imbrock 30 Jan 07 8:09 PM MST Kim, I sense your distress over the cutbacks on the pediatric outreach programs. Something your organization might want to consider is doing something within your cost boundaries that I stumbled across several months ago. It was a "diabetes camp" only instead of it being outdoors it was held in our conference area with booths and it was directed toward family participation. I think our Diabetes Center used some staff volunteers to help put on this program for the kids and their parents. This might be a creative, new thought program that would benefit everyone. Another idea might be involving meter companies and some pharmaceutical companies to provide financial support for these activities. Date Modified: 30 Jan 07 8:10 PM MST Karen Kelsall 31 Jan 07 10:32 AM MST Kim, In regards to your present position...does your organization currently hold Magnet Status?? I guess my question is...once your facility has committed to the 14 forces being present then obtained status...can they just let these programs you refer to "slide away"? That is kind of like no longer meeting the requirements of that force. Or at least that is how I view it. I do understand budget cuts and when you are the one deciding where the ever so small allotment of money is going it is hard to keep everything a float. I am just wondering if 1. This will compromise the facilities magnet status and 2. Is there another way to save these much needed programs and still keep the cost down. I see Margaret has advised about drug reps and durable equipment vendors...both of which are great ideas for funding. They have a vested interest in those camps and keeping their products marketable. I am also wondering if for nursing personnel..does your facility do anything with a clinical ladder...where outreach into the community could be given as a credit on the ladder if they were to donate a day at the camp of their own time??? Just a few thoughts. I will be very curious to hear from you in regards to the magnet status and how that works if the force is no longer being....."supported". Karen Kelsall PA Kim Zolnier 31 Jan 07 2:17 PM MST We do not currently hold Magnet Status. It was looked at several years ago but was not actively pursued. We do have a clinical ladder as well as Nurse Practice and Quality Councils. We have wonderful and generous drug reps that help our programs. Part of the problem with the camps is that staff were not permitted to be off to go to the camp. I guess now the whole issue is a moot point as it was announced today that the children's hospital where I currently work is closing. It has entered into a joint venture with another children's hospital (actually the one I accepted a position with). The new hospital is currently seeking Magnet Status. I will find out more when I go for orientation starting February 12. I hope that some of our programs can be continued at this new hospital. Thanks to this class I will know what questions to ask and what I need to learn about my new place of employment. Margaret Imbrock 31 Jan 07 8:50 PM MST Kim, Hopefully your new facility will pick up the ball on this community education, because as we learned last term future healthcare needs to focus on disease management and how we can best conserve our limited resources. Teaching the young population with these diseases how to best manage their health and their disease will avert or delay complications and progression of the disease. Good luck on the new position. Remember, you are a leader. Date Modified: 31 Jan 07 8:51 PM MST Kim Zolnier 2 Feb 07 9:14 PM MST Thank-you Karen and Margaret for your comments. I am excited to learn that the new hospital I will be working at is close to achieving Magnet status. Even more exciting is that they are interested in some of the community programs I have written about. They have spoken with the person who was in charge of the asthma and diabetes programs to see if they can continue them in some form. I hope they will reach some type of agreement so that these wonderful community programs can continue. Amy Fanning 30 Jan 07 5:52 PM MST Community and Hospital The tenth Force of Magnetism is Community and the hospital. This refers to the ability to recruit and retain nurses and maintain a strong community presence (Shirey, 2005) Another definition states relationships are established within and among all types of healthcare organizations and other community organizations, to develop strong partnerships that support improved client outcomes and the health of the communities they serve (ANCC, 2007). I strongly believe in this force of magnetism especially since I have been employed with a home health and hospice agency for the last three years. I found it interesting that there were slight differences in these descriptions however, together they encompass many wonderful attributes to any organization. The agency I am employed has many areas that are evident of this force. Although I do not work for a hospital I am treating it as one in the sense that we can still maintain and strive for the recruitment, retention, quality indicators, and standards of nursing practice as defined in the American Nurses Association (ANA) Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators (1996) that the Magnet Recognition Program focuses on (Mason, Leavitt, and Chaffee, 2002). One example of the strong partnerships with our community is the annual flu clinics that we provide. Every year we vaccinate hundreds of the county residents and employees. This event has grown over the last several years and is a positive way that we impact our community and educate the public about the flu and steps that they can take to prevent them from the disease. Another way that we have established a relationship with our community is through the monthly health talks that we take part in at local senior centers. This allows us to make ourselves known to the seniors in our community but also gives the opportunity to provide educational materials to them about relevant health issues and monitor their blood pressures. Recently I met with our public relations director about ways to improve these health talks and offered my assistance because of my passion for assisting our local residents. Our involvement in the community continues to grow and develop and has become an integral part of our agency. We recently implemented a Community Advisory Board Committee that is made up of various peoples including a physician, personal care home director, hospital employees and employees from other local businesses. This allows us to share with them our involvement in the community and also for them to provide us feedback and suggestions for improvement. There is a sense of pride with the employees from my agency about the many ways we offer support and serve our county. Reference: American Nurses Credentialing Center. Forces of Magnetism (1/26/07). Retrieved January 30, 2007 from http://www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet/forces.html Mason, D.J., Leavitt, J.K., and Chaffee, M.W. (2002). Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care (4th ed.) St. Louis, MO: Saunders. Shirey, M.R. Celebrating certification in nursing; forces of magnetism Adm Q. 2005 Jul-Sep; 29(3):245-53. Amy Fanning PA Christine Higbie 31 Jan 07 8:00 PM MST Response to Amy: Amy, it sounds like your agency is very involved with the community and you are doing many thing to help it also. I wish the agencies in my area were so involved. I think that it is wonderful that they are willing to help. What if your agency was not so involved, only worried about the bottom line( as many are). How would you influence them to become involved? Chris Amy Fanning 1 Feb 07 4:08 PM MST Chris, Great question! I think I would attempt to bring ideas and examples of other agencies that have implemented programs that were successful at community involvement. I strongly believe that the nurses I work with are truly caring individuals that go above and beyond the call of duty often. This is related to our discussion last week regarding core values, however not all have those qualities. In the last couple of weeks I have been attempting to increase the quality of our public service and interaction by talking with our public relations director, director of nursing and CEO. I feel in this situation that they need to be contacted regarding my thoughts and ideas. It's exciting that they are becoming more open to my suggestions and this also motivates them. Amy Fanning Christine Higbie 1 Feb 07 7:43 PM MST Amy, I think that when we recognize what are core values are we can really use them to our advantage. great job in opening up those lines of communication! Chris Linda Hinnant 31 Jan 07 10:49 PM MST Amy According to Steinbinder (2005) the 10th Force of Magnetism-Community & Hospital is also viewed as the manifestation of active participation in the community. I was inspired when I read your post on this force and to learn of your agencies level of community involvement. Your agency demonstrates active involvement in the community. According to Maurer and Smith (p. 340, 2005) “healthy, communities have environmental, social, and economic conditions in which people can thrive.” Thus, the creation of opportunities and best practices that you mention indeed fosters a healthy environment and a since of community. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, you have given me a wealth of information that I plan to implement and share with other nurse leaders. I understand why nurses in your agency feel a since of pride (they are living this force). As I reflect on the 10th Magnet force, I think my organization is only half way there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Great Post. References: Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2005). Community/public health nursing practice health for families and populations. (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. Steinbinder, A. (2005). The Magnet process one appraiser's perspective. Nursing Administration, 29(3), 268-274. Date Modified: 31 Jan 07 10:50 PM MST Amy Fanning 1 Feb 07 4:10 PM MST Linda, Glad to hear that some of our activities may assist you and your agency with improving your community involvement. Best wishes! Let me know if you need more details. Amy Linda Hinnant 2 Feb 07 6:39 PM MST Thanks Amy Linda Amy Fanning 3 Feb 07 3:59 PM MST Review and Reflect: This week has been quite eye-opening on the many faucets of obtaining Magnet status. I was not familiar with the extensive process of the 14 forces of magnetism however, I have found them all fascinating and thought provoking. Because I do not work in a hospital I have been thinking this week about other facilities and agencies that are not hospitals but provide quality healthcare to the communities they serve. Could there be a type of magnet status created for them? Who knows what the future will bring, but we can strive to improve the quality of care we provide to our patients regardless of magnet status. I am proud to work for an agency that is intertwined with the community and glad to have given some new ideas to my fellow nurses. Thanks for another great week! Amy Fanning