Our Magnet Journey

Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Virts

Inova Loudoun Hospital is proud to be pursuing our fifth designation as a Magnet recognized hospital. This journey highlights the excellence of our engaged nursing staff, quality outcomes, and ongoing innovation in healthcare delivery as our teams apply evidence-based practice and research to improving patient outcomes.

Most importantly, this aligns with Inova Health System's mission to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve.

Our nurses continue to demonstrate courage, commitment, and most importantly compassion as they work to achieve Inova’s core value of “Patient Always.”

I continue to be honored to work with such a dedicated team of talented nurses and thank them for their ongoing commitment to our profession, our team members, and our patients.

Ashley Virts, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Nursing Officer, Inova Loudoun Hospital
Vice President, Nursing, Inova Children’s Service Line
Vice President, Nursing, Inova Women’s Service Line

Magnet Recognized sealInova Loudoun Hospital is proud to have once again been designated as a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

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What is Magnet Recognition?

Magnet Recognition® from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the most prestigious distinction a healthcare organization can receive for nursing excellence and high-quality patient care. With only 9% of U.S. hospitals earning the Magnet designation, that is approximately 505 hospitals, it’s clearly a distinction to be proud of. Our Nursing Team is gratified to work at Inova Loudoun Hospital, appreciating the quality of care required to be called a Magnet Hospital.

What does Magnet Recognition mean to a hospitals' patients?

Today, patients are much more educated, informed and are seeking objective benchmarks that will aide them in choosing a health care provider. Studies have shown that Magnet Hospitals provide:

  • A higher standard and level of patient care
  • Better patient outcomes
  • A safer environment
  • Higher nurse to patient ratios
  • Lower mortality rates
  • Shorter stays

What does Magnet Recognition® mean to nurses and the hospital?

Magnet designation means that a “Magnet culture” has been created within the organization. This provides the professional nurse a working environment that actively promotes:

  • Higher RN satisfaction
  • Higher RN retention rates and decreased turnover
  • Greater autonomy and responsibility
  • Participation in decision making
  • Clinical collaboration
  • Increased opportunities for professional development and education

We asked our ILH Nursing Team: What does working at a Magnet® hospital mean to you?

JamieI work as a Mentor, Educator welcoming new nurses to ILH and assisting in orientating them to their units. When I discuss what it means to be a Magnet Hospital I tell them being employed at a Magnet hospital means that you are employed at a hospital that is nurse-friendly. It means that your voice as a nurse can be heard and that you are invited to the table to let your voice and opinions be heard about policy and procedure decisions. Magnet means that the nurses who actually do the work at the bedside can see a problem and are empowered with the autonomy to fix that problem.

Jamie U., BSN, RN, PCCN, CMSRN
Clinical Nurse Mentor Inova Loudoun Hospital

JackieI appreciate the visibility of nursing leadership in a Magnet facility. My nursing leaders are present and accessible. Nursing is part of every significant decision made in this hospital – nurses sit on all committees and at the Board Room table. Our nursing practice is driven by nurses at the unit level; this is satisfying and empowering. We provide exceptional care to the patients in this community. Magnet is the designation we have earned for our amazing engagement and professional involvement. How fulfilling!

Jacquelyn H., MSN, RN-BC
Clinical Director, Medical Surgical & Oncology Units
Inova Loudoun Hospital

heather
Heather S., BSN, RN, Medical Surgical & Oncology Units

There are many reasons I appreciate being a part of an organization that is a Magnet Hospital. One is the push to continue my education. This not only provides personal growth but also gives me the competitive edge nurses need to stay current in practice and provide up-to-date care that is evidenced based. I recently finished my BSN program and this was largely due to Inova’s commitment to providing a higher level of care and to follow the guidelines of Magnet recognition. I am so proud that I have completed the program and am already looking to earn my Masters. Also, Magnet hospitals allow nurses to work within multi-disciplinary teams and therefore provide higher quality, patient-centered care. This is achieved by improving communication and collaboration among healthcare team members, to include the patient, during their hospital stay and provides a safer transition to home once discharged.

Being a Magnet-rated hospital benefits the community by providing a high-standard of care in an environment that also promotes nurse excellence. Nurses are at the forefront of patient care and are the faces of healthcare. Working in an environment where nurses are recognized and supported in the work they provide not only provides an empowering work environment, but also means the care we are providing is met with better patient outcomes, dedication to our staff, and most importantly, our community.

AmandaAs a Clinical Nurse Specialist, one of my main responsibilities is to improve patient outcomes by ensuring nursing care is scientifically-based and up-to-date.

To me, working at a Magnet hospital means a continuous drive to improve and re-examine nursing practice, and not to do things in a certain way because “that’s the way we’ve always done it."

Amanda G, MSN, RN, CCNS, CCRN, RN-BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Inova Loudoun Hospital

When I first joined Inova, I didn't fully understand the importance of working at a Magnet facility. Now, I deeply value it, as it focuses on exceptional patient care through team development. The constant growth opportunities enhance our impact on patients, teams, and the work environment, fostering professional growth and a culture that supports our passion every day.

Liz Chenari, 
Float Pool Nurse Manager
Inova Loudoun Hospital

Magnet Components

Inova Loudoun Hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Virts, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, successfully advocated for resources to increase employee wellbeing, adding an onsite employee assistance program counselor in 2023 and championing a four-day work week for all leaders in 2024. Other nursing leaders advocated for personnel who would assist in educating our nursing staff and for supplies to enhance patient safety. 

Nursing leaders continue to drive our cultural transformation and foster an environment of inclusion and belonging. Leaders strive to connect with team members, provide a safe place to speak up and encourage voices to be heard. We continue to support our new graduates with our Vizient nurse residency program, our new nursing leaders with our nursing leader Transition to practice program, and our clinical mentors and educators with our nursing professional development academy. In addition, our medical intensive care unit received the prestigious Gold Beacon Award in January 2025.

Inova Loudoun Hospital fosters a culture of shared governance. Nurses at all levels are included in shared governance and unit-based councils. The councils foster the professional practice of nursing and strive to improve nursing care and patient outcomes. Inova’s clinical ladder, ADVANCE, which stands for Achievements Demonstrating Versatile Accomplishments in Nursing Clinical Excellence, was revised in 2022 – 2023 with clinical nurse input, and two new levels were added to include more nurses. Level 2 was added specifically for the newer nurse and does not require a BSN or a certification. Level 5 was added for staff who are more heavily involved in unit/hospital activities. In 2024, 201 nurses advanced on the clinical ladder. This is a 145% increase over 2023. 

The professional development council hosted its annual innovation conference on Dec. 6, 2024, with the theme “Legal considerations and ethics in nursing” and featuring keynote speaker, Judy Kerby, RN, CPHRM, risk management. Research, quality improvement and evidence-based practice topics included a new child abuse tool, a weighted blanket used for managing delirium, a new handoff tool and many other topics. 

Our nurses’ commitment to professional advancement is evident in our BSN rate of 86% and our certification rate of 54%. 28 RNs from Inova Loudoun Hospital attended conferences in 2024 including the Vizient nurse residency conference; the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses conference; the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses conference; the Synova Perinatal Leadership Forum; the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses National Teaching Institute; the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses conference; the Emergency Nurses Association conference and the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet conference. Inova Loudoun Hospital is currently writing our fifth Magnet document, to be submitted in April 2025.

Inova Loudoun Hospital’s nurse residency program celebrated 101 graduates in 2024. Together with the other four Inova hospitals, our residency program achieved the Practice Transition Accreditation Program designation in August 2024. First-year RN turnover dropped significantly, from 10.99% to 7.21% by the end of 2024 through the collaborative efforts of our professional practice team, nurse residency program facilitators, preceptors and leaders. Overall nursing turnover dropped to its lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic, now standing at 13.26%. 

Our 2023 Press Ganey National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) Nursing Satisfaction Survey had an overall response rate of 90%, and the majority of our units exceeded the national Magnet benchmark in the four major domains: autonomy, fundamentals of quality nursing care, hospital affairs and professional development opportunity. 

Inova Loudoun Hospital provided care that has exceeded NDNQI national benchmarks for catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, hospital-acquired pressure injuries, patient burns, surgical errors and falls with injury in the most recent eight quarters.

2024 was a banner year for Inova Loudoun Hospital’s research, evidence-based practice, quality improvement and implementation science projects, with 23 podium presentations and 22 poster presentations at local, regional and national conferences. In addition, six articles and one book contribution authored by our nurses were published. 

In 2023, Inova was awarded a seven-year contract to work with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Health System Implementation Initiative to build an interprofessional commitment to learning and growing in implementation science. This project enables us to participate in implementation projects valued up to $5 million each. Inova accelerator events led to the implementation of virtual nursing, leveraging technology to reduce the documentation burden and increase patient safety. Our inpatient wound care nurses participated in an implementation science project by initiating virtual wound care consults. This new workflow has increased the speed at which patients receive care.