Only a doctor can admit a patient to a hospital, but as the only 24/7 bedside practitioners, it is nurses who make the biggest contribution to health outcomes. And increasingly, it’s the more highly educated nurses who make the biggest difference. With that in mind, local hospitals are moving swiftly to advance the education level of nurses and increase the percentage of nurses who have a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN). It’s a commendable decision, but not easy to implement, nor does it come without cost to those who are unable to attain the higher degree. The Institutes of Medicine, in a groundbreaking 2010 report, recommended that hospitals strive to have at least 80 percent of their nurses be four-year BSN grads by 2020. But a four-year nursing degree remains an expensive proposition: for a nurse with a two-year degree, it would cost at least $16,000 to earn a bachelor’s degree, and that’s from a state school. Private schools run as much as $30,000. That’s why it was encouraging to see Providence Health & Services announce last week that it’s creating a Nursing Institute to advance the professional development of its 3,500 nurses in the Los Angeles region. The Providence Southern California Nursing Institute plans to do many important things, including launching a nurse-led research team to investigate best practices, which the hospital will then standardize across all its Southern California facilities, including its three Valley hospitals: Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and Providence Tarzana Medical Center. But equally important is the Institute’s stated goal to raise $1 million locally to help 2,000 San Fernando Valley nurses get their four-year degrees. “Nursing education and in particular, the BSN, is critical to advancing quality and safety,” said Kathleen Harren, R.N., regional director of the new Nursing Institute. Using the Institute as a formal structure to help advance nursing education, Providence hopes to reach out to area donors and philanthropists to raise the money. Harren said $1 million could go a long way to help reach the hospital’s goal of moving up the percentage of nurses at Providence’s three Valley hospitals who have the four-year degree from roughly 50 percent today to the 80 percent goal recommended by IOM. “We will not rest until we reach the 80 percent goal,” she said. Harren said the two Providence hospitals in South Bay have already raised the money. The Valley hospitals are next. But Providence is not alone in encouraging more nurses to pursue higher degrees. For the last three years, Northridge Hospital has been working to achieve Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program is one of the most prestigious designations for a hospital, a Good Housekeeping seal, if you will, of nursing excellence and quality. The designation is also key to attracting doctors–and their patients, which is what generates revenues for hospitals. Achieving Magnet status is a lengthy, multi-year process. Northridge is in the third year of the so-called “Journey to Magnet Excellence.” It can take some hospitals as many as ten years to earn the Magnet credential, said Jan Moran, assistant director of Magnet Operations at ANCC. “It’s a high standard,” she said. “It’s recognition of a health organization’s attainment of excellence in nursing.” And it’s a demanding process. In fact, only 390 hospitals nationwide have earned the credential. Only one hospital in the San Fernando Valley has achieved Magnet status — Providence Holy Cross — though several more are trying. Though Magnet hospitals don’t require all their nurses to have a baccalaureate, the ANCC wants Magnet hospitals and those striving for Magnet status to have an action plan and set a target, which demonstrates evidence of progress toward having 80 percent of direct-care nurses obtain the baccalaureate degree by 2020, said Moran. Like Providence, Northridge is helping its nurses to advance toward the four-year degree. The hospital pays nurses with a two or three-year degree at least part of the cost of completing the BSN, said Teddi Grant, vice president of marketing. Nurses can attend an on-site program through Holy Names University of Oakland or choose any other qualifying program. The hospital provides $3,000 a year in tuition reimbursement for these programs, said Grant. While Northridge moves to advance the educational level of its nurses, some two-year nurses worry that they will be left behind, or worse — fired. Grant says those worries are completely unwarranted. The hospital has an absolute commitment to not fire any nurses with two-year degrees, she said. What’s more, union rules prevent the hospital from taking any such measure. What the hospital is doing, she added, is hiring BSN grads for top RN positions in the hospital — all other things, including experience, being equal — and helping existing staff advance their education. It’s an important goal. Asking more of our nurses is a good thing. With all the talk about improving health outcomes, it’s important to support nurses and help them grow as professionals. Staff Reporter Judy Temes can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or at [email protected].