A gold seal of approval in the medical field for hospitals, known as magnet status, provides positive benefits for employees and patients.

Nurses seek out employment at these hospitals because of the supportive work environment. Patients come because they know it means the institution delivers excellent care.

Magnet recognition is a program from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, an organization that monitors nursing practices and offers credentialing services for advanced practices.

"Only 4 percent of the nation''s 7,500 hospitals are designated as magnet status," said Tina Ahearn, magnet program coordinator for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "We were the first adult magnet hospital in the state of Missouri. We became designated in 2003."

Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children''s hospitals are the only hospitals in the area with magnet status. Others with the designation in Missouri include Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, as well as Children''s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Saint Luke''s Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center, all of which are in Kansas City.

Today, there are more than 230 hospitals with the designation. To earn the status, hospitals must meet certain standards and provide examples and data.

The magnet designation lasts for four years. If a hospital wants to keep the status, they must submit data every four years, Ahearn said.

Angela Janik, vice president of patient care services at St. Anthony''s Medical Center, said the South County hospital has started collecting data for the application process.