Newswise — (QUEENS, NY– December 19, 2016) – Nursing staff at Mount Sinai Queens scored higher than the national average in a nursing engagement study of 245 nurses conducted by Press Ganey, an organization that uses data to improve the patient experience. Mount Sinai Queens earned superior scores in several categories, including quality of nursing care, teamwork, and leadership access and responsiveness.

“Nurses are the largest segment of the health care workforce. An engaged nursing staff is one of the key factors that determine our commitment to high quality care, patient experience, and service,” says Jill Goldstein, MA, MS, RN, Vice President, Nursing, Mount Sinai Queens, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow. “It is gratifying to know that our nurses feel supported and engaged.”

“Engaged nurses are associated with best quality outcomes because they are empowered to practice at full scope and they are strong advocates for their patients,” says Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN, AOCN, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President, The Mount Sinai Hospital/Mount Sinai Queens, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Engaged nurses feel recognized for their contributions to excellent quality care and are highly valued by the organization.”

This survey was done in preparation for Mount Sinai Queens’ Magnet reapplication in 2018. Magnet status, administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, is granted to less than 8 percent of hospitals, and demonstrates a commitment to maintaining the most rigorous standards in the provision of nursing care. Mount Sinai Queens earned its first Magnet designation in 2015; The Mount Sinai Hospital received its third consecutive Magnet redesignation at the same time.

“The American Nurses Credentialing Center determines what helps nurses do the best job they can to continue on the path to Magnet designation again and again,” says Elizabeth Ralston, RN, MA, MEd, Director of Nursing Education and Research, Mount Sinai Queens. “Engaged nurses are central to effective, efficient caregiving teams.”

“These exceptional 2016 survey results demonstrate a commitment to an outstanding patient experience and quality of care. Creating a workplace culture that supports best practice is an essential ingredient in recruiting and retaining top nurses,” says Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director, Mount Sinai Queens. “We’re pleased our nurses feel we’ve created an environment for them to do their best work.”

About Mount Sinai QueensMount Sinai Queens has been serving the western Queens community and beyond since 1999 when The Mount Sinai Hospital acquired the former Western Queens Community Hospital. The Hospital has been delivering health care in this location for 120 years.

With 235 licensed acute-care beds, Mount Sinai Queens provides medical and surgical services. A growing team of more than 500 physicians representing nearly 40 medical and surgical specialties and sub-specialties serve the needs of the diverse population of our community.

The new Mount Sinai Queens Ambulatory Pavilion, which opened in 2016, is helping to expand the range and quality of medical care in the Borough of Queens. Within the new six-story, 140,000-square-foot facility are the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Emergency Department which has significantly expanded the Hospital’s ability to serve the growing urgent and emergent needs of patients; Mount Sinai Doctors, a large, multi-specialty medical practice opened where today over 30 physicians on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine in all specialties are providing outpatient care in an attractive and state-of-the-art environment; Mount Sinai Imaging is offering a full range of radiology testing; and brand new operating rooms opened with the latest technology.

Mount Sinai Queens is the only hospital in Queens to bear the prestigious Mount Sinai name and is now one of seven hospitals, with the Icahn School of Medicine, that form the Mount Sinai Health System. The hospital combines the medical excellence of an academic medical center with the compassionate, caring environment expected at a community hospital.

Our commitment to patient safety and an outstanding patient experience is unwavering, as demonstrated by our excellent record of reduced pressure injuries, restraints and falls; recent Magnet® designation for nursing excellence; the American Heart and Cancer Associations’ Get with the Guidelines “Gold” designation; and our full embrace of Epic, an electronic medical record, across all inpatient and outpatient departments and hospital locations that is fully integrated with Mount Sinai Manhattan.

For more information visit, www.mshq.org or find Mount Sinai Queens on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

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