Featured Post from ChristianaCare

Four-Peat! ChristianaCare Achieves Magnet® — the Top Recognition for Nursing Excellence — for the Fourth Time

ChristianaCare is first in Delaware to earn fourth consecutive Magnet designation for nursing and interprofessional excellence.

Mar 21, 2025

3 min

Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BCMichelle L. Collins, DNP, APRN, CNS, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, LSSBB
CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove


Hundreds of nurses and their colleagues at ChristianaCare gathered in a conference room at Christiana Hospital and listened through a livestream across the organization’s campuses and practices for an announcement they’ve been anticipating for many months.


“For your commitment to nursing excellence and quality care, we are thrilled to recognize ChristianaCare with its fourth consecutive Magnet designation,” said David Marshall, JD, DNP, RN, chair of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Magnet Recognition. “This accomplishment is a powerful testament to your dedication to the nurses who practice there, the entire health care team, and — most importantly — the patients you serve.”


Shouts erupted, balloons and streamers floated up and, in the happy commotion, there was even a little cowbell. As the only four-time Magnet-designated health care organization in Delaware, ChristianaCare has achieved this global recognition — the highest honor in nursing practice — for continued dedication to excellence and innovation, high-quality patient care and experience, nurse engagement and work culture.


“Magnet designation recognizes ChristianaCare nurses are simply the best!” said ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH. “A fourth Magnet designation is an incredible achievement and reflects the vital importance and commitment of our nurses as we serve together with love and excellence.”


ChristianaCare has more than 3,000 nurses, and they make up the largest segment of ChristianaCare’s workforce. ChristianaCare is the largest nonprofit organization and private employer in the state of Delaware.


This most recent designation for ChristianaCare includes Christiana Hospital, Wilmington Hospital, ChristianaCare HomeHealth and Community Care Services, through early 2029.


What it means to be Magnet

“Our fourth consecutive Magnet designation means that our nurses and all of our caregiver colleagues have upheld the ANCC’s very high standards in patient care since our first recognition in 2010,” said ChristianaCare Chief Nurse Executive Danielle Weber, DNP, RN. “That is a long time to bring your ‘A’ game every day — through 15 years of change, including a pandemic — and to sustain growth in professional practice, innovation and culture. Magnet recognition raises the bar for patient care and inspires every member of our team to achieve excellence every day.”


The Magnet Recognition Program — administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the largest and most prominent nurses credentialing organization in the world — identifies health care organizations that provide the very best in nursing care, exceptional nurse engagement and professionalism in nursing practice. The Magnet Recognition Program serves as the gold standard for nursing excellence and provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark for measuring quality of care.


The ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® has conferred Magnet status to less than 10% of hospitals and health systems in the United States. There are 621 Magnet-designated health organizations internationally. ChristianaCare was the first in Delaware to achieve Magnet designation, in 2010.


For nurses, Magnet Recognition means education and development through every career stage, which leads to greater autonomy at the bedside. For patients, it means the very best care, delivered by nurses who are supported to be the very best that they can be.


While Magnet is a nursing-led initiative, the designation reflects the work of caregivers across the organization. Magnet redesignation itself is a rigorous process. Health care organizations must reapply for Magnet status every four years and demonstrate adherence to the Magnet concepts for nursing excellence and engagement and measurable improvements in patient care and quality.


The ANCC commended ChristianaCare on these exemplars:


  • Advocacy for and acquisition of organizational resources specific to nurses’ well-being. particularly through the Nursing Integrative Care Program.
  • An innovative strategy to address the shortage of certified registered nurse anesthetists in Delaware through a partnership program between ChristianaCare and Wilmington University to launch the state’s first Nurse Anesthesiology program.
  • Outstanding nursing research engagement and growth of the nursing research enterprise especially through the Nursing Research Fellowship in Robotics and Innovation.
Connect with:
Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC

Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC

Chief Nurse Executive

Danielle Weber is the chief nurse executive at ChristianaCare.

Caregiver EngagementHealthcare Management
Michelle L. Collins, DNP, APRN, CNS, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, LSSBB

Michelle L. Collins, DNP, APRN, CNS, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, LSSBB

Vice President, Nursing Professional Excellence

Michelle Collins is a national nursing expert on successful infrastructures related to governance, strategic planning, and innovation.

Clinical Nursing AdvancementMagnet DesignationVirtual Acute CareNursing Professional GovernanceNursing Innovation
Powered by

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from ChristianaCare

2 min

Brian Levine, M.D., Named Chief Academic Officer and Intellectual Property Administrator

ChristianaCare announced Feb. 12 the promotion of Brian Levine, M.D., to chief academic officer, along with his appointment as intellectual property administrator. He will also continue in his role as designated institutional official. As chief academic officer and leader of ChristianaCare’s Department of Academic Affairs, Levine oversees 38 residency and fellowship programs encompassing 315 residents and fellows, along with the education and training of students across the continuum of medical education. He leads the continued growth and strengthening of ChristianaCare’s undergraduate and graduate medical education infrastructure, ensuring that ChristianaCare continues to prepare physicians to care for our community well into the future. In addition, Levine oversees physician assistant education and allied health educational programming, supporting workforce development and long-term community health needs. As the largest academic medical center between Philadelphia and Baltimore, ChristianaCare has been a hub of academic excellence for over a century. ChristianaCare is one of the largest community-based teaching hospital systems in the United States. ChristianaCare also serves as the Delaware Branch Campus for Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. This unique program allows medical students to complete their third and fourth years of clinical rotations exclusively at ChristianaCare, providing a clear pathway to launch their medical careers in Delaware. Each year, 55 students participate in the Branch Campus program, with many continuing into ChristianaCare’s highly sought-after residency programs and remaining in Delaware to serve local communities. ChristianaCare is a destination of choice for medical students and residents because of its strong patient-centered culture, reputation for excellence, and diversity of clinical experiences that include urban and suburban campuses with a wide range of pathologies. In his newly expanded role as intellectual property administrator, Levine manages and enforces ChristianaCare’s intellectual property policy, ensuring fair and consistent application in alignment with applicable laws and regulations. He also leads the multidisciplinary committee responsible for guiding organizational decisions related to intellectual property valuation, commercialization strategies and revenue distribution. Levine brings deep experience in academic medicine, health system education and scholarly publishing to these responsibilities. An emergency physician, he led the development of widely used clinical reference guides published by the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association. These pocket-sized tools — covering topics such as antibiotic stewardship, orthopedic injury management, and EKG interpretation — are used by thousands of emergency medicine residents worldwide. Levine has held leadership roles at ChristianaCare for nearly two decades. Since 2018, he has served as associate chief academic officer and designated institutional official. Previously, he was program director of the Emergency Medicine Residency program from 2012 to 2018 and associate program director from 2006 to 2012. Levine is a clinical professor of Emergency Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and previously served as associate medical director for the LifeNet aeromedical transport program. He earned his medical degree from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency at ChristianaCare.

3 min

ChristianaCare Plans to Build Health Campus in Georgetown, Delaware

At a time when there is uncertainty about the future of heath care in the U.S., ChristianaCare is doubling down on its investments to expand access to care in Delaware. As part of $865 million in new investments in Delaware over three years that ChristianaCare announced last July, ChristianaCare today submitted a Notice of Intent to the Delaware Health Resources Board to develop a new health campus in Georgetown. The proposed campus will bring more comprehensive care closer to home for residents of Sussex County, an area experiencing rapid population growth and long-standing gaps in access to essential health services. Designed to Meet the Needs of a Growing Community Similar to ChristianaCare’s West Grove Campus in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, and its upcoming campuses in Springfield and Aston in Delaware County, the new campus will feature a health center offering primary care, specialty care, behavioral health and other outpatient services and a neighborhood hospital with eight emergency beds and eight inpatient beds. This facility is designed to make it easier for residents to receive timely, high-quality care in their own community. “Sussex county is home to a growing and aging population and is designated by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) as a Medically Underserved Area,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO of ChristianaCare. “This new campus will help close gaps in access by bringing high-quality, equitable and more convenient care directly into the community that needs it most. Our goal is simple: ensure that every Delawarean can access the care they need, in the right place at the right time.” Expanding Access While Strengthening Regional Care This new ChristianaCare campus will add local outpatient care, emergency and inpatient care, creating a closer network of services connecting residents to advanced specialty care at ChristianaCare’s regional hospitals. ChristianaCare is partnering with Emerus Holdings, Inc. with respect to the neighborhood hospital component. Emerus is the nation’s leading developer of this care delivery model, partnering in the operation of more than 45 acute care facilities nationwide. This partnership reflects ChristianaCare’s commitment to bringing nationally recognized, high-quality care to Delaware. “We are proud to continue our partnership with ChristianaCare to bring sustainable, compassionate and high-quality health care to the residents of Sussex County,” said Vic Schmerbeck, CEO of Emerus Holdings Inc. “Together, we are building a next-generation model of care designed around the needs of the community—today and for the future.” The 42,000-square-foot Georgetown campus is expected to open in late 2028. The campus is planned for 20769 DuPont Boulevard in Georgetown. The campus is estimated to cost $65.1 million. Planning for Today’s Demand and Tomorrow’s Growth ChristianaCare already offers a range of services in Sussex County—including primary care, specialty care, virtual care and home health and hospice services. However, Sussex and Kent counties are projected to see an 8% population increase by 2030, with a significant rise in residents age 65 and older. As demand for emergency, primary and specialty care grows, this new campus is designed to make care more local, more connected and more responsive to community needs. In addition, ChristianaCare will continue to explore opportunities to expand access to care in other areas of Delaware, including in Kent County.

3 min

New Study Finds Most Patients Can Safely Continue Weight Loss and Diabetes Drugs Before Gynecologic Surgery

Most patients taking popular weight loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy can safely continue them before gynecologic surgery, according to a new journal article from ChristianaCare published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The review found that serious anesthesia risks linked to these drugs are uncommon for most patients and can usually be managed through individualized planning rather than stopping the medication. The paper is the first to take a focused look at glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, commonly called GLP-1 drugs, in gynecologic surgery. These medications were first approved to treat diabetes and are now widely used to support weight loss and metabolic health, which refers to how the body processes sugar and energy. “Our study shows that the evidence does not support routinely stopping these medications before surgery and that the actual risk is low for most patients,” said Michelle Pacis, M.D., MPH, senior author of the study and a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon at ChristianaCare. Why these medications raised concerns GLP-1 drugs work in part by slowing how quickly the stomach empties. This helps patients feel full longer, but it also raises concerns for surgery. Doctors worry that food remaining in the stomach could increase the risk of aspiration, when stomach contents enter the lungs during anesthesia. Because of this, early recommendations often advised stopping GLP-1 medications before surgery. The ChristianaCare review found that this approach was largely based on caution rather than strong evidence. The authors reviewed data from multiple studies, including large patient groups, that examined outcomes in people taking GLP-1 drugs during procedures. While some studies showed higher amounts of stomach contents, aspiration events were rare and occurred at rates similar to patients who were not taking the medications. New guidance reflects a change in thinking Recent national guidance from several medical societies now recommends a more tailored approach. Most patients can continue GLP-1 medications before surgery. For patients with higher risk factors, such as significant stomach symptoms or known delayed digestion, simple precautions can reduce risk. These precautions may include a clear liquid diet for 24 hours before surgery or closer monitoring during anesthesia. A clear liquid diet includes fluids like water, broth and clear juices. “This shift recognizes both the benefits of these medications and the importance of patient-specific decision making,” Pacis said. Why this matters for gynecologic surgery Many gynecologic surgeries require patients to be positioned in ways that can affect breathing and circulation. At the same time, many patients needing these procedures also have obesity or diabetes, which can increase surgical risk. GLP-1 medications can improve blood sugar control and support weight loss, helping patients enter surgery in better overall health and enhance recovery. Stopping these drugs without a clear reason may work against those benefits. Practical steps to support patient safety The study outlines several strategies care teams can use when patients remain on GLP-1 medications. These include thoughtful anesthesia planning, careful monitoring of heart and lung function, and, in select cases, the use of ultrasound to check stomach contents before surgery. “The goal is not to ignore risk, but to manage it wisely,” Pacis said. “For many patients, continuing these medications supports safer surgery and better recovery.” The authors note that more research is needed, particularly studies focused specifically on gynecologic surgery. Still, the findings offer clarity for patients and clinicians navigating a rapidly changing area of care. “This review helps bring evidence and balance to an issue that has caused a lot of confusion,” Pacis said. “It supports keeping patients on therapies that benefit their health whenever it is safe to do so.”

View all posts
Powered by