COLUMBIA, Tenn. — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently conferred a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence on the Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Critical Care Unit. MRMC is the only adult critical care in Tennessee to achieve gold status.
The Beacon Award for Excellence — a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments — recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with gold, silver or bronze designations meet national criteria consistent with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
“This achievement is reflective of the commitment by our Critical Care team to provide evidence-based care to patients who are facing critical illnesses. It is especially meaningful coming on the heels of one of the most challenging times that health care teams have ever faced,” said Chief Nursing Officer Deborah Lumpkins, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. “The nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other specialists who work together as a multidisciplinary team to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients are to be congratulated for this recognition.”
AACN President Beth Wathen, MSN, APRN, CCRN-K, applauded the commitment of the caregivers at Maury Regional Medical Center for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence.
“The Beacon Award for Excellence is a testament to a team’s commitment to providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care to patients and families. Creating healthy and supportive work environments empowers nurses and other team members to make their optimal contribution,” Wathen said. “Achieving this award is an honor that brings such joy to those who have worked so hard to achieve excellence in patient care and positive patient outcomes.”
The gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by the MRMC Critical Care Unit signifies an effective and systematic approach to policies, procedures and processes that include engagement of staff and key stakeholders; fact-based evaluation strategies for continuous process improvement; and performance measures that meet or exceed relevant benchmarks. MRMC earned a gold award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:
- Leadership structures and systems
- Appropriate staffing and staff engagement
- Effective communication, knowledge management and learning and development
- Evidence-based practice and processes
- Outcome measurement
“Our critical care team’s dedication to providing exceptional care to our patients while supporting one another is to be commended,” said Maury Regional Health CEO Davin Turner, DO. “I am so pleased to see this remarkable team’s efforts and collaboration recognized in this prestigious manner.”
The other Beacon Award designations are silver and bronze. Recipients who earn a silver-level award demonstrate an effective approach to policies, procedures and processes that include engagement of staff and key stakeholders; evaluation and improvement strategies; and good performance measures when compared to relevant benchmarks. Recipients who earn a bronze-level award are beginning the journey to excellence, which includes developing systematic policies, processes and procedures; identifying opportunities for staff participation; and recognizing the need to develop cycles of evaluation and improvement.
The critical care unit at MRMC earned a silver-level Beacon Award in 2019. The gold-level award will be presented during the annual AACN conference in May in Houston, Texas.