A Grateful Nod to Our Nurses

The history of health care is filled with the stories of great nurses. Some have famous names-Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Edith Cavell, Dorothea Dix and Margaret Sanger -while the selfless deeds of others-including those who have tended the wounded and dying in American wars from the Revolution to Iraq-live on in nameless heroism.

Most nurses don't get their names or stories in history books. They serve quietly, humbly and without pretension. Ask any one of them why she (or he) chose to become a nurse and the answer is simply and invariably "because I wanted to care for people."

Nurses account for about 29 percent of the FirstHealth of the Carolinas work force. It is then entirely appropriate that our core purpose, "to care for people," reflects the compassion that brings exemplary individuals into this profession of caring.

Like health care in general, nursing is a dynamic field. A young person entering nursing in 2005 can choose to concentrate on any one of a number of specialties. From obstetrics and pediatrics to home health and hospice, nursing covers the human spectrum. Some nurses provide traditional bedside care while others opt for high-tech roles in anesthesiology, information services and intensive care. Still others move into administration and help shape the direction of health care-its present and its future.

Nurses in the three FirstHealth hospitals and in a dozen other venues-from our School Health program to Critical Care-consistently aim for the best. Nothing characterizes this continuing quest for nursing excellence better than a current move by our nursing programs to obtain the Magnet Nursing Designation for Moore Regional Hospital.

Developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Magnet Designation recognizes nursing programs that provide the very best in nursing care while upholding the tradition of nursing practice. Characterized by a process of cultural change, the Magnet quest fosters professional nursing autonomy, an environment for effective communication and a workplace of excellence.

FirstHealth's Magnet application, which is now in the documentation phase, involves all of the nursing units at Moore Regional Hospital as well as nurses in the School Health, Home Health, Cardiac Rehab and Diabetes Self-Management programs. As they "go for the gold," their Magnet application theme, our nurses have updated their model of care to include the principles of collaboration, advocacy, research, education and safety (CARES), and fine-tuned their organizational structure to reflect more nurse input, leadership and decision-making in the practice environment.

Their goal is to create an environment that not only encourages but also actively promotes professional nursing practice and quality patient outcomes.

The Magnet documentation phase will continue through the end of 2005, and an ANCC site visit will likely take place in spring 2006, so you will be hearing much more about our Magnet quest in the months to come.

In the meantime, enjoy this issue of FirstHealth of the Carolinas, which highlights nursing as "the backbone of health care," and consider the nurses who have affected your life. I'm sure that there have been many of them.

Charles T. Frock
President & Chief Executive Officer