Sweet sixth success! St. Luke's achieves an impressive, rare feat with Magnet designation

On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center (which includes the Boise and Meridian hospitals, urgent cares, ambulatory clinics, surgery centers, cancer centers and inpatient rehabilitation unit) earned its sixth Magnet designation, which is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), an honor of excellence in health care.

Hospitals are eligible for the designation every five years. The sixth designation puts St. Luke’s in impressive company, with less than 20 having earned that recognition across the country. In its decision, the Magnet committee noted "it was clear that nursing is highly respected and valued and is represented at the highest decision-making bodies in the organization." It also noted strong metrics in nursing retention and patient satisfaction. St. Luke's ranked No. 1 nationally in 2024 with a 14.8% 30-day readmission rate with in 30 days for all causes after heart failure, with the committee noting how pivotal nurses were in that figure.

The following is a Q&A with Elizabeth Steger, senior vice president of clinical practice integration and chief nurse executive, about the incredible achievement.

Why is Magnet designation so important?

It is the gold standard of achievement for nursing. This prestigious honor offers benefits to our nurses and interdisciplinary team and it improves patient outcomes. Designation indicates that St Luke’s meets rigorous standards for a transformative culture that fosters professional development, shared governance, evidence-based nursing practice and a high level of nursing engagement.

Patients benefit from St Luke’s commitment to achieving the highest level of patient care and the resulting outcomes. Consistently, Magnet sites achieve lower mortality rates, lower rates of hospital-acquired infections and a higher rate of patient satisfaction. As a result, this external validation enhances trust in meaningful ways with patients and families, the interdisciplinary team, our communities and partners and payors. It’s part of the virtuous cycle of St Luke’s choosing to pursue what’s right for those we serve and for our team which results in people choosing us for care and employment. These choices create a solid foundation and the stability to continually elevate improvement for all.

Six times in a row puts St. Luke’s in rarified air, what does knowing that mean to you?

Rarified air – I love that! The latest information available indicates that there are 6,093 hospitals in the US with 606 being Magnet designated. Of those 606, only 18 have reached six designations. It is such an honor to be a part of an organization with this legacy and commitment! When I joined St Luke’s four years ago, I knew I was becoming part of an elite team with proven success and a culture that aligned with my values. The focus on relationship-based care and the unwavering commitment to communities served reaches beyond a Magnet document submission or a performance during a site visit, it is occurring each day throughout the healthcare system. It’s real. So, knowing that, means everything to me as a nurse, as a leader and as a community member. It means that I have confidence that when my loved ones need health care, St Luke’s is the right place to be.

An interesting aspect to Magnet is that it seems like it’s an effort that truly takes all hands (as it is not a short process by any means), how have you seen the teamwork portion of it come together during this process?

You are spot on. As we’ve already discussed a bit, success with Magnet designation requires high reliability in fostering and maintaining a Magnet culture day in and day out. The expectation at this level is to continue to advance practice and develop organizationally with each designation.

So, most importantly, it is about St Luke’s continuing to invest in supporting the framework of transformational, evidence-based practice and our team members delivering exemplary care. At St Luke’s, we are fortunate to have a Center of Excellence (CoE) and the Magnet Community of Practice (CoP) providing expertise on changes to standards, engaging in networking within the broader Magnet community, and continually scouting for stories that could be included in the next document. Operational leaders, interdisciplinary team members, Quality, Human Resources, and myriad other key stakeholders contribute to the Magnet journey.

As you mentioned, you joined St. Luke’s not long after the 2020 Magnet designation; what has stood out to you in your tenure about nursing at St. Luke’s and maintaining a high level of excellence?

If I had to choose one thing that stands out to me, it is the authenticity of our St Luke’s nurses and our persistence and dedication in elevating performance.

It has been an exciting month, as not too long ago, St. Luke’s celebrated its Nursing Excellence Awards. How was the event? It must be so rewarding to hear some of their stories.

The Nursing Excellence Awards represent the tireless efforts of our team members professionally and often, personally. The stories shared model our iCARE values and the character of those recognized. I don’t think many people can attend the awards without a few tears, goosebumps or both.

Looking ahead, what are you looking forward to when it comes to nursing at St. Luke’s and across the field? Any initiatives or shifts in the profession that you have your eye on?

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how nurses and the interdisciplinary team can support advancing the integration of care throughout the continuum. Health care is becoming more focused on holistic and individualized care, and people want to be engaged in informed decision making and planning about their health.

Nurses are uniquely prepared to meaningfully contribute to this work with training in assessment of psychosocial, spiritual, and physical needs; routine inclusion of the patient and family as an integral part of the healthcare team; and application of relationship-based care with patients alike. Add advances in technology to streamline tasks, give real-time access to more patient data and simplify documentation, and nurses will be able to move to more height of license work. It’s an exciting proposition!