Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa has achieved a highly coveted recognition in nursing excellence after 4 years of diligent work.
In late January, Santa Rosa became the third Kaiser Permanente medical center in Northern California to be nationally recognized with Magnet Recognition® from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Santa Rosa’s new designation follows Vallejo and South Sacramento both of which received this status in 2023. More Northern California facilities are expected to achieve this honor in 2026 and 2027.
Less than 10% of hospitals in the United States have earned Magnet Recognition, considered the gold standard for nursing excellence, quality care, and nursing practice innovations. It also includes standards for professional growth, education, and retention. Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa is the first hospital in Sonoma County and now the 56th in California with a magnet designation.
Dozens of Kaiser Permanente nurses, doctors, and administrators celebrated as they received formal word of the magnet designation from an ANCC representative during a recent breakfast gathering.
David Marshall, chair of the commission on Magnet Recognition, appeared on a video call to deliver the news to a packed room. He noted that Santa Rosa received a unanimous vote in favor of a magnet credential. At that news, the room exploded in applause, cheers, and gold confetti.
The ANCC has a set of rigorous criteria to achieve Magnet Recognition. Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa demonstrated nursing excellence by outperforming national benchmarks in the areas of quality, safety, care experience, and nursing engagement. The facility received 9 exemplars, or areas where it exceeded the already high requirements.
Marshall shared Santa Rosa’s accomplishments in various areas, such as preventing falls, infections, and injuries in the hospital, as well as patient education and satisfaction. He began with observations on workplace safety.
“The feeling of safety was repeated and repeated during the site visit with the appraisers,” he said. “Congratulations on attacking this vexing problem that many can learn from your example.”
Achieving Magnet Recognition required the participation of all nurses at the Santa Rosa hospital and interprofessional team members. Santa Rosa had to submit documentation on how it was meeting or exceeding the magnet requirements. The process also included a 3-day site visit last fall by magnet appraisers. The designation is renewed every 4 years.
The pride, poignant memories, and excitement that hospital leaders and other team members who worked on the magnet journey shone through at the announcement.
“It’s such an honor to be a part of this distinguished club. We worked so hard,” said Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Chief Nursing Executive and Chief Operating Officer Vicky Locey, DNP, RN, at the announcement. “This magnet recognition celebrates more than excellence. It honors the courage, innovation, and the unshakeable spirit of our nurses and health care team. Through the fires, the pandemic, and countless challenges, we haven’t just preserved, we have excelled.”
Gigi Gaytan, magnet program director at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, said this moment filled her with pride. It also reminded her of tough times during the destructive Tubbs fire 8 years ago and how much has changed since then.
“To go from that moment to where we are today just shows how resilient our team is and the dedication to excellence,” she said. “Our nurses are so involved every step of the way in patient care and making decisions to improve patient outcomes.”
Med-surg staff nurse Matthew Yuen, RN, who was involved in the magnet journey, was at the announcement.
“A lot of our staff go well above and beyond to make sure we deliver personalized care for each individual. We put our heart and soul in each and every patient.”
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