The Magnet® Difference
The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet designation is the most prestigious credential a health care organization can achieve for nursing excellence and quality patient care. Research demonstrates that Magnet designation provides specific benefits including improved patient outcomes, higher patient satisfaction and high job satisfaction among nurses.
- Sanford USD Medical Center and Clinics has been Magnet-recognized since 2003 with five consecutive designations for nursing excellence.
- Sanford Bismarck Medical Center and Clinics has been Magnet-recognized since 2008 with four consecutive designations for nursing excellence.
- Sanford Medical Center Fargo, including all metro hospitals and clinics, has been Magnet-recognized since 2025 for nursing excellence.
PUBLIC NOTICE
ANCC Magnet Recognition Program
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ANCC Magnet Recognition is one of the highest credentials a healthcare organization can achieve. Magnet designation indicates to patients and the public that the organization has met the most stringent, evidence-based standards of nursing excellence in patient care delivery. Magnet Recognition is not merely an award or a badge of honor. It is steadfast proof of a hard-earned commitment to excellence in healthcare, with contented nurses at its heart.
Sanford USD Medical Center was designated as a Magnet organization in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2017, and 2022, by the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program and is now applying for redesignation.
We invite patients, family members, staff, and other interested parties to provide feedback via email or direct mail.
- All comments must be submitted in writing by November 21, 2026.
- If you would like your comment to remain anonymous, indicate this preference at the top of your letter or email.
COMMENTS WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL AND WILL NOT BE SHARED WITH THE ORGANIZATION
Mail comments to:
Katie Little
American Nurses Association
Magnet Recognition Program Office
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Email comments to:
magnet@ana.org
Why is Magnet important?
Magnet recognition acknowledges the invaluable contributions of nurses in all healthcare settings and among all populations worldwide. It is a results-driven recognition that fosters nurse engagement and the role nurses play as interprofessional team members to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs
What Does it Take to Achieve Magnet Status?
Magnet organizations exemplify the 14 forces of magnetism established by the American Nurses Credentialing Center by demonstrating:
- A high-quality care environment
- Clinical autonomy and responsibility
- Participatory decision-making
- Strong nurse leaders
- Two-way communication with staff
- Community involvement
- Opportunity and encouragement for professional development
- Effective use of staff and resources
- High levels of job satisfaction (directly affects patient satisfaction)
- Attention to cultural and ethnic backgrounds
Magnet Status is the highest national recognition awarded to a hospital or medical center for excellence in nursing. It is accepted nationally as the gold standard of patient care and provides healthcare consumers with a benchmark to measure quality of nursing care.
Learn More About the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Magnet
Shared Nursing Governance
Sanford Health has a history of nursing excellence. Nurses are empowered daily within a care delivery model that has person-centered, holistic care at its core. This core work is supported by Sanford’s values that promote courage to pursue advancement in service to our patients, their families and the communities we serve.
Sanford nurses are both expected and encouraged to be a voice in the organization’s decision-making processes. Shared governance is a structure and process that allows our nurses to collaborate with each other and with nursing leaders in making decisions about their practice.