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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; While it&#8217;s normally quiet in hospitals, a room packed full of nurses at Geisinger Wyoming Valley just couldn&#8217;t contain their excitement when it was announced the hospital had received a major distinction from an accreditation agency.</p><p>On Wednesday, staff members learned that the hospital had been officially entered into the Magnet Recognition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Only 7 percent of hospitals nationwide have the distinction, based on quality of care. </p><p>Geisinger Wyoming Valley is the first hospital in Northeastern Pennsylvania to receive it.</p><p>What seemed like hundreds of nurses packed into the hospital&#8217;s relatively small Kistler Learning Center, listening excitedly as as Angelo Venditti, chief nursing officer at the hospital, spoke on the phone with a member of the credentialing center.</p><p>While it seemed like the hospital had a fairly good idea it would be receiving the distinction &#8212; the nurses passed out noisemakers and pom-poms to celebrate beforehand &#8212; it was still a suspenseful moment until the verdict was officially announced.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been biting my nails for 60 days, and I&#8217;m about as far down as I can get,&#8221; Venditti joked on the phone ahead of time.</p><p>But then it happened &#8212; the hospital was told it had not only been entered into the program, it had been voted in unanimously.</p><p>The cheers from the nurses were deafening.</p><p>Venditti told reporters afterward that Geisinger Wyoming Valley exceeded all of the national benchmarks set forth by the credentialing body to receive the recognition, and it shows nurses looking for jobs what kind of place the hospital is to work at.</p><p>&#8220;This will be an attractor for nurses looking for jobs in the community and surrounding areas. We believe they&#8217;ll choose Geisinger because of this recognition,&#8221; Venditti said.</p><p>Lindsey Ford, director of nursing education for the hospital and Magnet program director, spearheaded the process in applying for the program.</p><p>She said the recognition is the culmination of many weeks of work.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a long time, and now we&#8217;re finally recognized as being a Magnet-designated hospital.&#8221;</p><p>Geisinger Wyoming Valley&#8217;s Magnet-designation extends to Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre, which is technically part of its campus. Geisinger Wyoming Valley is the third hospital in the Geisinger system to receive the recognition.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Geisinger Wyoming Valley nurses celebrate as they learn they were entered into the Magnet Recognition Program. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_geisinger.jpg</photo0><caption0>Geisinger Wyoming Valley nurses celebrate as they learn they were entered into the Magnet Recognition Program. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Geisinger Wyoming Valley receives rare national recognition