Riverside Regional Medical Center Earns Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence
Riverside Regional Medical Center has been recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) with the prestigious Magnet® designation. This recognition places us among a prestigious group of healthcare organizations worldwide, with fewer than 10 percent having earned this level of nursing excellence.
The Magnet Recognition Program® is the highest national credential for nursing practices, awarded to healthcare organizations that demonstrate superior quality in nursing care, innovation in professional nursing practice, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Magnet recognition is associated with numerous benefits for healthcare organizations and their communities, including enhanced nurse satisfaction, stronger nurse recruitment and retention, improved patient satisfaction, and excellent patient outcomes.
The Magnet Model
Riverside uses the ANCC Magnet® model as a framework to drive nursing excellence by empowering nurses through transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, new knowledge, innovations, and improvements, and empirical outcomes. These components guide our nursing practice, foster professional growth, and ensure high quality, evidenced-based care that improves patient outcomes.
The Riverside Health Professional Practice Model (PPM)
Identifies the foundations and defines professional nursing practice components across the health system. The PPM integrates Riverside's mission, vision, values, and nursing philosophy to guide professional nursing practice in delivering high-quality care to all those served across the health system.
The tree symbolizes life, strength, adaptability, and growth. Each part of the tree represents a different part of professional nursing practice at Riverside Health. The color green has been known to symbolize health, renewal, and safety. This color is strongly represented throughout our health system.
The Roots:
A tree grows from the roots up. Strong, well-secured roots allow the tree to flourish. It is also the part of the tree hidden from plain sight, but possibly the most critical part of the tree. The core values of professional nursing practice at Riverside are found in the roots of our tree. Integrity, leadership, professional development, mentoring, and shared governance help to give nurses across the health system a strong foundation.
The Trunk:
As a tree grows, the trunk brings stability, strength, and presence. Riverside's mission "to care for others as we would care for those we love" is shown in the heart at the center of the trunk. Caring is the center of our professional nursing practice at Riverside Health.
The Branches and Leaves:
A healthy tree has many branches and leaves that allow the tree to stand out and continue to grow. The colored grouping of leaves illustrates essential aspects of professional nursing practice as related to the branch component. The branches and leaves, collectively, form the canopy of the tree, which signifies a comforting canopy of care for the people and communities we serve.
Nursing Strategic Plan
Riverside Regional Medical Center’s nursing strategic plan is grounded in our mission “To care for others as we would care for those we love” and aligns with all five components of the ANCC Magnet® model.
Riverside nurses are carefully selected for their empathy, ethics and clinical skills. Each is committed to our mission of caring for others as we would care for those we love.
At Riverside Health, we follow a structured nursing professional governance model that encourages collaboration and shared decision-making between direct care nurses and nurse leaders. This approach supports professional nursing practice, strengthens interprofessional teamwork, enhances quality and safety, and empowers nurses through ongoing development and leadership opportunities.
Riverside’s professional governance model is built on a structured reporting matrix that supports a continuous, two-way flow of information from frontline nurses to leadership and back. Information and feedback move upward from unit-based councils to Riverside Regional’s central councils, then to the Riverside Health Clinical Professional Practice Council at the system level, and ultimately to the highest decision-making body, the Riverside Health Nurse Executive Council. This model also ensures that decisions, updates, and strategic priorities from leadership are communicated back down through the same channels, keeping all levels of nursing informed, engaged, and empowered.
Encompasses Exemplarily Professional Practice component of the Magnet® Model
A Riverside Regional Medical Center central council that leads evidence-based nursing practice, ensuring alignment with national standards, guiding policy development, and evaluating care quality.
Encompasses Structural Empowerment and New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements components of the Magnet® Model
A central council at Riverside Regional Medical Center dedicated to promoting evidence-based practice and professional growth through initiatives like scholarly dissemination, nurse residency program, mentorship, IRB coordination, clinical ladders, specialty certifications, and retention efforts.
Encompasses Exemplary Professional Practice and Transformational Leadership components of the Magnet® Model
A central council at Riverside Regional Medical Center dedicated to coordinating quality improvement initiatives that are strategically aligned to drive positive patient outcomes. The council reviews and analyzes clinical data across units and departments, focusing on nurse satisfaction and engagement, patient experience, and nurse-sensitive indicators such as: catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), patient falls with injury, hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI), and assaults on nursing staff.
Encompasses Structural Empowerment components of the Magnet® Model
A central council at Riverside Regional Medical Center that promotes and communicates the importance of maintaining a culture of nursing excellence by supporting initiatives that sustain our Magnet® recognition throughout the four-year redesignation cycle.
Occupational and Personal Factors Related to Burnout in Acute Care, click here to learn more
Frontline Nurses’ Attitudes and Practices on Policy Advocacy, click here to learn more
Effects of a Formal Mentorship Program on Self-Efficacy, Perceived Support, Intent to Stay, Burnout, and Stress in New Nurse Graduates, click here to learn more
We seek opportunities to help our nurses attain professional advancement with a Shared Governance Model designed to provide Structural Empowerment through our Professional Development and Practice Council.
Click here to learn more
More Information
Natalie Watkins, MSN, RN, CCRN-CMC, CNL
Magnet Program Director
[email protected]
757-612-7511
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Nurses at Riverside have nearly unlimited opportunities to grow professionally. If you value diversity, teamwork and respect — and caring is at the heart of your nursing practice — please consider joining our team.