O
n the other side of the country from Maine, a similar story
unfolded recently at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medi-
cal Center (LAMC) when the facility achieved Magnet
status in 2022. Tinny Abogado, RN, works in the step-down unit
there and is a California Nurses Association (CNA) board member.
She remembers previous, unsuccessful attempts to get Magnet at
the facility and how it seemed to consume management's focus.
Because of the focus on Magnet, Abogado said, the union nurses'
concerns about issues like staffing or anything unrelated to Magnet
were cast aside as management chased the credential.
"Every time we got a new chief nurse executive, Magnet was the
first thing on their agenda," Abogado told National Nurse. "The last
one before the current one we have, she was pushing really hard for
it, and there were rumors going around that, if she didn't get it, they
A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 3 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 17
This fee structure
sheet from the
American Nurses
Credentialing Center
website shows how
revenue-focused the
organization is and
gives a good idea of
just the basic adminis-
trative fees hospitals
must pay to submit
paperwork.
