Canada’s Magnet hospital

At a celebration that sums up 2020, Sinai Health’s leadership and front-line care teams gathered virtually to hear the Chair of the Magnet Commission deliver the unanimous decision to award Mount Sinai Hospital with Magnet status. Mount Sinai remains the only Canadian hospital to achieve this prestigious designation which it first received in 2015.

“Receiving Magnet designation is really a testament to the countless contributions our front-line nurses, health discipline team members and leaders make every day to elevating the standard of patient care,” said Jane Merkley, Executive Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive and Chief Operating Officer. “This ongoing and consistent commitment to quality improvement, professionalism, and advancing the Science of Care is remarkable.”

Achieving redesignation is no easy feat, with the standards increasing with each designation cycle. It requires meeting the rigorous Magnet standards and mandatory requirements, including outperforming national and international benchmarks in terms of clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction. Plus a virtual site visit, to allow the opportunity for the appraisers to validate the hospital’s written submission. Two programs of work were highlighted as exemplars by the appraisers, our Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes education program and our work to eliminate device related hospital acquired pressure injuries.

“The fact that we were able to accomplish this redesignation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the unwavering commitment of our people to the deliver safe, high-quality and compassionate care, all while continuing to support one another,” said Nely Amaral, Director of Nursing Quality and Practice and the hospital’s Magnet Program Director.

With less than nine per cent of hospitals in North America achieving Magnet status, this redesignation places Mount Sinai amongst the top tiered hospitals in the world.