The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses selected 188 hospital units nationwide as the winners of its 2021 Beacon Award for Excellence, the organization said Feb. 16.
The award recognizes hospital units that use evidence-based practices to provide safe, patient-centered care. To be recognized, hospital units must meet various criteria in five categories:
- Leadership structures and systems
- Appropriate staffing and staff engagement
- Effective communication, knowledge management and learning development
- Evidence-based practice and processes
- Outcome measurements
The award features three different levels of recognition — gold, silver or bronze — each of which has a three-year term.
Four things to know:
1. In total, units from 126 U.S. hospitals were recognized, and 34 hospitals had more than one unit recognized.
2. Houston-based Memorial Hermann Hospital had the most units recognized, with six units earning silver-level awards.
3. Fifty-eight units received a gold-level Beacon award. UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif., and UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., had the most units earn this distinction with four each.
4. Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare's medical intensive care unit became the first unit to win the Beacon Award for five consecutive three-year terms.
Learn more here.