Timpanogos Regional Hospital designated as one of the best places for nurses to work
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner, left, and clinical supervisor Jenny Castro help to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner, middle, and clinical supervisor Jenny Castro help to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner, left, and clinical supervisor Jenny Castro help to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Registered nurse Mike Turner helps to treat James Herrera at Timpanogos Regional Hospital Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Orem. The nursing staff at Timpanogos Regional Hospital recently won the Pathways of Excellence in Nursing Care award, the only hospital in Utah to do so. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
Timpanogos Regional Hospital has received a designation years in the making.
The hospital became the only Utah hospital to receive the Pathway to Excellence designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in late January, a recognition that identifies it as one of the best places to work as a nurse.
The designation comes after years of work from the hospital to change policies and create committees in order to meet the standards to receive the designation. The process also included a 1,234-page application, made up of several books the hospital submitted, that took around four months to write and was sent to readers across the nation. The application had to address hundreds of different topics and policies on how the hospital functions.
“Our average patient might not know what this is, but you are going to get better care because of it,” said David Haskell, Timpanogos Regional Hospital’s executive director of nursing.
Sandy Ewell, Timpanogos Regional Hospital’s chief clinical officer, said a few years ago, staff started looking at how the hospital could improve its practice of nursing. At the time, the hospital wasn’t prepared to submit the application, but changes started being made to work towards the designation.
Ewell said that after the hospital started actively working toward the designation in 2012, patient satisfaction started to increase, a trend she expects the hospital will continue to follow as it nears the 90th percentile of hospitals in patient satisfaction. Employee satisfaction also increased, and retention stayed strong.
The designation means nurses have more control over the practice of nursing and are encouraged to speak up.
“When you have less turnover and disruption and unhappiness, it is a better work environment and you get better nurses,” Ewell said.
The application books were submitted in Oct. 2014. Several months later, the hospital, which employs 325 nurses, heard it had moved on to the next stage where nurses would be surveyed. Then, last month, it learned it earned the designation.
Kimball Anderson, CEO of Timpanogos Regional Hospital, said the designation reaffirms that the hospital is on the right track.
“It helps to illustrate our commitment to nursing care and to our patients,” Anderson said. “For the staff to feel so passionate about it, not necessarily for the recognition, but for the validation that their efforts are noted and appreciated.”
