Goshen Hospital achieves top level of excellence, recognized as Magnet with Distinction

Goshen Hospital has long stood out in Northern Indiana for its stellar outcomes and strong staff of nurses. As a result, the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® has named the hospital a Magnet organization on a regular basis since 2004. When the Magnet Recognition Program® first added a new designation, Magnet with Distinction, Goshen Hospital was promptly recognized with the new title.

“Magnet with Distinction is the highest, most prestigious distinction you can achieve in healthcare, and at the end of the day, what it demonstrates is that we have better outcomes than the majority of the organizations in healthcare today,” said Goshen Health Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Julie Crossley. “We are part of an elite, small percentage of health systems across the world. It shows that we’re committed to exceptional patient care and to an exceptional work environment for our Colleagues.”

Dealing directly with Goshen Hospital’s nursing staff as CNO, Crossley is proud to call Goshen Hospital nurses leaders in the region and beyond. Across the State of Indiana, Goshen Hospital is one of four organizations to achieve this recognition four times. This puts Goshen Hospital in a class of its own, not just within the state but across the nation, leading the country alongside big names like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Emory Clinic. 

With Goshen Health having received its most recent Magnet with Distinction in May of 2024, Crossley likens Magnet to the Olympics.

“The analogy we used at that point in time, which I continue to use today, to describe Magnet and Magnet with Distinction revolves around the Olympics,” Crossley said. “Magnet organizations across the world are your Olympians who made it to the Olympics. Magnet with Distinction organizations are your Olympians who came out with a gold medal. Magnet with Distinction organizations are not just part of an elite group; they are the top of the class within that group. Goshen Hospital was the fifth organization across the world to achieve that level of excellence.”

Goshen Health Director of Education & Professional Practice, Erica Prough, believes that the reason Goshen Hospital has achieved and maintained its Magnet status is largely a reflection of the hospital’s commitment to empowering its nurses. At Goshen Hospital, nurses are invited to take a seat at the leadership table and have a say in the things that count.

“Nurses are professionals. We have a voice. We make a difference. We are leaders. We have Professional Governance, which simply means there are councils and committees that nurses join to review data, look at the patient experience, look at our quality, and make decisions to point of care,” Prough said. “At Goshen Hospital, we are really involving our clinical nurses in our decisions, and I think that helps to solidify that Magnet with Distinction culture; that culture of excellence.”

Beyond providing nurses the opportunity to lead and take ownership of their work, nurses are also encouraged to seek continued education. Over 50% of Goshen Hospital’s nurses who are eligible for board certification have a board certification, and 84% of its nurses are bachelor-prepared or even master’s-prepared nurses.

“Having that organizational support, with both finances and time, to achieve those certifications and continue to advance their degrees is one of the keys to growth,” Prough said. “People have to be willing, but having that support of the organization makes a difference. There is a little healthy peer pressure to grow as well. We can say, ‘I’ve become certified, so why don’t you? How can we help you continue to advance and grow?’”

To learn more about Goshen Health and its recognitions, visit goshenhealth.com.