Del Sol Earns Nurse-Friendly Designation from the Texas Nurses Association
Del Sol has earned the Nurse-Friendly™ designation of the Texas Nurses Association (TNA).
This achievement which only 40 hospitals in Texas have received attests to Del Sol’s commitment to a nursing practice environment that supports and values the contributions of nurses in its overall pursuit of safe, quality patient care. Del Sol is the only hospital in El Paso to earn the three-year designation which is awarded only to facilities who demonstrate through a lengthy application process the presence in their hospital policies and procedures of the 12 TNA Nurse-Friendly™ Hospital Criteria.
Award of the designation also requires a majority of the hospital’s nurses to confirm through confidential survey that the 12 criteria are present in the hospital. The 12 Nurse-Friendly Hospital Criteria that are consistent with excellent patient care and nurse job satisfaction include:
- Control of Nursing Practice: This focuses on the organizational, administrative and staff activities and the assurance that these activities are structured to facilitate maintenance of nursing standards of care as outlined by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners.
- Safety of the Work Environment: This ensures that the facility demonstrates a concern for workplace safety issues by meeting and exceeding regulatory safety standards.
- Systems Exist to Address Patient Care Concerns: This addresses the facility has systems in place for addressing and evaluating issues related to nursing practice quality.
- Nurse Orientation: This demonstrates that the facility has an orientation program which is needs and competency based. These programs must consider education and experience as well as identify the strengths and weaknesses of the nurses in orientation.
- Chief Nursing Officer: The criterion for this standard is a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) who is an RN with a master’s degree in nursing or health care/business administration. This also considers whether the activities of the CNO in management of nursing are supported by hospital administration.
- Professional Development: The facility must have a professional development program to facilitate the ongoing educational needs that maintain and/or further develop professional expertise.
- Competitive Wages: Nursing salaries should remain competitive; market adjusted, and recognizes outstanding performance and professional commitment.
- Nurse Recognition: The facility recognizes individual nurse merit and excellence.
- Balanced Lifestyle: The facility recognizes the need of nurses to balance work and non-work life.
- Zero Tolerance Policy for Abuse of Nurses: The facility does not tolerate the abuse of nurses.
- Middle Management Accountability: The organization facilitates leadership competency among supervisors of direct care nurses and middle management through a delineated leadership program.
- Quality Initiatives: The facility demonstrates a commitment to evidence-based practice.
For more information, please contract Carla Sierra, Administrative Director for Marketing and Public Relations for Del Sol Medical Center at (915) 595-9222.
Nurse-Friendly is a certification of Texas Nurses Association.