WOBURN - It's been some four months since the Winchester Hospital reached "magnet" status but the passage of time hasn't dulled the enthusiasm.

Last November, Winchester Hospital earned the designation from the American Nurses Association - the highest honor for nursing excellence.

The honor only went to seven community hospitals throughout the U.S. by the American Nurses Credentiallying Center for excellence in care and nursing practices.

In short, Winchester Hospital is just one 92 of the 5,000 existing hospitals that can claim the Magnet recognition.

In recent days, Marlene Williamson of Winchester Hospital talked to the Woburn Rotary Club at its noontime luncheon on the achievement. "There was a commitment by everyone involved to raise the bar at the hospital," she beamed, "and we did."

Williamson, a Winchester native, has herself a long history of being with the hospital from being a coffee shop volunteer in high school all the way to one of several people called upon to bring all the parts together at Winchester Hospital.

"For one thing," she pointed out, "there was a major effort to get nurses involved in all policy decisions... This was a big, first step and others followed."

Also, she pointed out, nurse autonomy was an issue as was the creating of a "cultural awareness" on the part of nurses and having them respond accordingly.

Chief Nursing Officer Barbara Doyle said in November: "This is an incredible moment in the 90-year history of Winchester Hospital and I congratulate everyone for the hard work and dedication that have brought us here," said the five-year head nurse at the hospital.

A staff nurse, Mary Pelrine, R.N., also accompanied Williams to the luncheon and presentation at the Radisson Hotel in Woburn.

Also, Vice President Glenn R. Welch of the Winchester Hospital Foundation points out, the city of Woburn is the "number one user of the facilities of the Winchester Hospital." Winchester Hospital also has major facilities at Baldwin Park II in North Woburn, including a breast care center.

Historically, the Magnet credentialling based on nursing care had its origins in the 1980s. Nursing groups like the Washington D.C.-based ANA studied why some hospitals could recruit and retain nurses despite a burgeoning nurse shortage while others could not.

They discovered that nurses were attracted to so-called "magnet" hospitals where they had more time with patients and more control over their resources.

Out of these findings in 1994 came the ANCC's Magnet Recognition Program, which although focused on nursing, speaks volumes about the quality of the overall organization.

"We're also the first community hospital in Massachusetts to earn the Magnet recognition," Williamson beams.

In recent weeks, she points out, other hospitals have called in rapid fashion, including names like the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Dana-Farber in Boston and the U.S. Naval Hospital.

Presently, Winchester Hospital has some 700 nurses with 39 percent having bachelor's degrees in nursing, 5 percent with a master's degree and 24 percent with various certifications. The Magnet program holds these nurses up to "the tradition within nursing of professional nursing practices" and to promote positive patient outcomes.

According to those close to the situation, there are intangible results which are often indirect products of the self-assessment and intimate scrutiny, including interdisciplinary collaborations, creative thinking and collegiality that frequently develops with institutions.

Only the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston received a Magnet recognition in 2003.

As for Williamson, who after Winchester H.S. continued her education at Villanova (Class of '75), she is back helping the hospital in every way, including efforts on the Magnet program.

"Would you believe, I'm back in the coffee shop!" said the volunteer. Williamson is also a per diem employee at the hospital and takes great pride in brining the entire Magnet program to fruition.