Hot Springs Receives Shared Governance Accreditation

The internationally recognized Forum for Shared Governance announced it has awarded shared governance accreditation to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs in Hot Springs, AR.

Shared governance is an innovative management model that ensures that nurses are the ones making clinical decisions at the bedside, while allowing them to influence the resources that support those decisions.

Patients often assume nurses are empowered to make decisions in their best interest. However, sometimes nurses’ decisions are superseded by managers, administrators, and others far from the point of care who don’t have the expertise or information to coordinate patients’ total care. Shared governance ensures that the status quo is bedside nurses empowered as patient advocates.

“Through rigorous survey of all nursing staff, managers, and administrators, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs has demonstrated its nurses call the shots for their patients,” said Dr. Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO and Founder, Forum for Shared Governance. “Shared governance has been associated with better professional, organizational, and patient outcomes, according to research studies. If patients get sick, they should make sure the ambulance takes them to a hospital accredited in shared governance.”

“There are only 40 other hospitals in the world with this accreditation and CHI SVHS scored the highest of any hospital on a Shared Governance survey we sent out in January that our employees took,” said Laura McAnally, BSN RN RN-BC, Nursing Excellence Manager.