Research led by McHugh in 2013 found that improved nurse preparedness at Magnet facilities accounted for much of the difference in patient outcomes, but there were other factors that weren't fully explained by measured characteristics of nursing.

“What that suggests is although the measured difference in nursing accounts for the majority of the benefit, there is still something else that differentiates Magnet from a non-Magnet [hospital] that we haven’t been able to measure,” said McHugh, associate director of Penn’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research. “We can only guess at what that might be.

“From a consumer’s perspective, the message is the same,” he added. “If I choose a Magnet hospital over a non-Magnet, I am likely to get better care and have better outcomes.”

Established in 1994, Magnet status is awarded by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center, an affiliate of the American Nurses Association, to hospitals that satisfy criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their nursing. Magnet recognition is a factor in the U.S. News and World Report hospital rankings. Magnet hospitals, which have higher proportions of nurses with bachelor’s degrees and specialty certification, demonstrate transformational leadership, structural empowerment, exemplary professional practice, development of new knowledge, innovation and improvement and empirical outcomes. All of those factors positively impact the quality of patient care, Magnet officials say.

To address the challenge at SVMC of people regularly using the ED, nurses coordinated a community care team that interacts with patients who frequently visit the ED to connect them with other services in the community. Studies show patients fare better at Magnet hospitals. A 2016 study led by University of Pennsylvania professor Jeffrey Silber, PhD, MD, found patients at Magnet hospitals had a better 30-day mortality rate and better surgical outcomes with similar costs, said Karen B. Lasater, PhD, RN, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research.

“[Magnet] really doesn’t have to be a more expensive option for hospitals,” Lasater said. “These things have payback through better patient outcomes. The other main finding of that paper is the Magnet hospitals admitted fewer patients to ICUs, which can be an incredibly expensive resource intensive place to be hospitalized. They are also getting patients out of the hospitals sooner so shorter lengths of stay are associated with lower cost to the hospital.”

For patients deciding where to seek medical treatment, Lasater said research favors Magnet hospitals. “We know that when bedside nurses in hospitals are well resourced and able to perform clinical care and collaborate effectively with other clinicians, that these things have impact down the road for patients,” she said. “Magnet is the symbol or signal for these types of things that hospitals can do to improve patient care.”