ICU earns Beacon Award

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has recognized the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Bridgeport Hospital with a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence, the highest level a unit can achieve.

The national award recognizes caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards, which include skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition and authentic leadership.

“The recognition is a result of the consistent approach to evidence-based care our nursing workforce has implemented,” said Mary Christoffersen, RN, DNP, chief nursing officer. “Our nurses are highly skilled and compassionate professionals who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional care to our patients. They strive to create a healing environment for all individuals who walk through our doors.”

The gold-level Beacon Award recognizes 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.

“This award is a testament to the unit’s unwavering dedication to excellence in patient care and safety, commitment to evidence-based practices and continuous quality improvement, teamwork and leadership,” said Anne M. Aquila, RN, DNP, director of nursing, Bridgeport Hospital.

This is Bridgeport Hospital’s second gold-level Beacon Award in the past two months. In August, the Milford Campus ICU received the same honor.