I have been an R.N. for 36 years and have worked in both small community hospitals and large teaching hospitals, and being a TV wannabee I read with great interest the posts regarding Florida and TV healthcare.
A big measurement I think should be considered when evaluating healthcare is not just the quality of the doctor care but the quality of nursing care that you will receive in the event you are hospitalized. You can have the best doctor on the planet, but it will be nurses that will be providing you the majority of your care and you want to make sure that these nurses are competent in their practice, and the hospital supports a safe staffing model.
Magnet Recognition is a measurement used for quality of nursing care in hospitals. IMO it is not the be all end all since some of the criteria makes it difficult for small community hospitals that provide great nursing care to obtain this recognition, but it does foster quality of care through nursing education, nursing research, and most importantly optimum nurse/patient staffing ratios.
I believe the closest Magnet hospital to TV is the UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainsville. If you are interested in additional info regarding Magnet go the the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) web site.
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