Carle Foundation Hospital, the Carle Physician Group and Carle Hoopeston Regional Health Center attained Magnet with Distinction Recognition® in 2024. Carle Health is only the 7th organization to have achieved this special honor – meeting Magnet expectations but exceeding their scoring thresholds and being recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as one of the highest-performing Magnet organizations around the world.
1,587
registered nurses at Carle Foundation Hospital and Carle Physician Group
72%
of registered nurses at Carle Foundation Hospital and Carle Physician Group have at least a bachelor’s degree
52%
of registered nurses at Carle Foundation Hospital and Carle Physician Group have a specialized certification
Carle nurse honored for innovation with national award.
Christine Wetzel, DNP, Carle Foundation Hospital (CFH), received the prestigious 2021 National Magnet Nurse of the Year® Award in December 2021. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) annually recognizes the outstanding contributions of clinical nurses in each of five Magnet® model components. A practicing nurse for 28 years and an advanced expert in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), she developed a tool called eNEC, a risk-awareness instrument for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a potentially deadly abdominal infection that can affect preterm babies. Her evidence-based approach created a feeding-tolerance tool nurses now use across the country to determine a premature baby’s risk for NEC. It’s the first used by any NICU clinician.
Established in 1997 by Carle, the Faith Community Nursing (FCN) Network, formerly known as the Parish Nurse Program, has trained over 550 nurses who’ve found joy serving their faith communities. Through this nondenominational education curriculum, participating registered nurses receive continuing education hours, as well as the support and resources necessary to implement a Faith Community Nursing health and wellness ministry in their own faith community. In 2022, the Carle Faith Community Nursing Network served a total of 3,186 hours for their faith communities. Faith Community Nurses reported 2,503 encounters with clients in 10 different types of settings. The volunteer Faith Community Nurses continue to serve as essential members of the integrated healthcare system and make a difference in the lives of clients across Carle service areas.
In April 2022, 24 leaders across our organization took to the speaker’s podium for TEDxCarleHealth: Listening. Learning. Leading. Among the presenters were four nurses whose life experiences as caregivers offered meaningful insight into leadership. Kristin Goff, RN, BSN, CMSRN, nursing manager, NT6 Observation and R6 Oncology at Carle Foundation Hospital, spoke about the importance of providing growth opportunities for high performing nurses. “The solution is growing your people. Because when we grow our people, we help them see that they matter, that their work matters, we’re building relationships with them and we help give them purpose,” Goff said. “This has made a huge difference for me in the last several years in keeping my voluntary nurse turnover rates extremely low.” She seeks to build a partnership, and the trust that results gives them confidence to take leaps.
Carle Foundation Hospital, in collaboration with Medtronic, implemented a new technology to reduce wait times for pacemaker patients needing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), paving the way to a significant improvement in patient access and shortening inpatient stays. Now specially trained nurses can utilize the app to program the devices themselves, unlike earlier when the Medtronic pacemaker representative needed to be physically present during the process. This has resulted in more scans being completed than ever before, and in a much timelier fashion. Carle was one of the first 16 hospitals in the country to participate in this MRI programming app that allows nurses and technologists to perform MRIs without the company representative present.
Every day, nurses at Carle go above and beyond to care for and develop lasting relationships with their patients. We reached out to a few of our Champaign-Urbana registered nurses to get their perspectives on a simple question: Why do you choose to be a Carle nurse?
Professional Growth.
“Carle has helped me grow professionally by giving me the resources I need to succeed and allowing me to be a part of changes made.”A Passion for Helping Others.
"I have always had a passion for helping others, making nursing the perfect fit. And why not provide excellent nursing care to people right here in my hometown at Carle."Carle Health makes it easier for people to acquire the skills and support they need to enter the workforce with confidence. The Carle Nurse Residency Program (CNRP) is a nationally recognized transition-to-practice program that successfully guides nurses into the hospital setting. Nursing students in the final semester of nursing school are eligible to apply. The 12- to 20-week (depending on unit) program provides orientation, coaching and support to make all the difference.
The Carle Nurse Residency Program offers:
For more information, visit our Carle Workforce Development Nurse Residency page.
The Carle Nurse Exemplar Award is one of the highest honors Carle nurses can attain. Exemplars are nominated and selected by their peers as models of excellence, compassion and collaboration.
Nearly 5,000 nurses practice in a variety of settings from inpatient to ambulatory to our health plan. Click here to check out our Carle Health 2022 Nursing Annual Report.
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Discover the job, the career, the purpose you were meant for. At Carle Health, we're committed to fostering a workplace where every team member feels valued, respected ad empowered, where passion and purpose come together to positively impact the lives or our patients and our communities. Find it all at Carle Health.
With deep local roots, our nearly 17,000 team members and providers work together to support patient care through eight award-winning hospitals, a multispecialty provider group, a clinical research institute and higher learning institutions across central and southeastern Illinois.
We offer so many opportunities for great nurses to pursue lifelong careers at Carle Health. View our open positions now to figure out where you fit best based on your training and interests.
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