University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Reinberger Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSU) has earned the prestigious Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. This is a top honor from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses recognizing nursing excellence.
The NSU joins four other intensive care units at University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) which have been recognized with Beacon Awards: Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU); Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU); Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The MICU is the only ICU in the nation to have received this honor consecutively for five years and the SICU has received it three times.
"Having five intensive care units recognized with this award is truly a national distinction and high praise for the excellence of our nurses," said Fred C. Rothstein, M.D., President of UHCMC. "Exceptional nursing care has always been a cornerstone of UHCMC, and we're proud to see a national organization validate their superior work."
"This is truly outstanding recognition for the dedication shown by our nurses to provide excellent care," said Catherine Koppelman, RN, Chief Nursing Officer of UHCMC. "Our nurses' commitment to caring for the most critically ill patients has led our NSU and other units to earning the highest praise from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses."
The UHCMC NSU is recognized as a Beacon Award winner due to the unit's commitment to superior quality standards in nurse recruitment and retention, patient outcomes, staff training, healthy work environments, leadership and evidence-based practice and clinical research.
"We applaud our NSU staff, led by Chris Murphy, the nurse manager, and their unparalleled nursing care, teamwork, outcomes and innovation," said Michael DeGeorgia, M.D., Director of the NSU. "It is their abiding commitment to patient-centered care and quality that has won them this elite honor."
In establishing the award, AACN, the world's largest specialty nursing organization, carefully considered a number of factors. The Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence is awarded twice yearly. To determine whether a critical care unit had earned recognition as a Beacon Award winner, the unit must have:
Recognized excellence in the intensive care environments in which nurses work and critically ill patients live;
Recognized excellence of the highest quality measures, processes, structures and outcomes based upon evidence;
Recognized excellence in collaboration, communication, and partnerships that support the value of healing and humane environments;
Developed a program that contributes to actualization of AACN's mission, vision and values.
UHCMC's NSU provides the highest level of neuro-intensive care available. It is one of only a handful of centers in the country and is one of only two such units in northeast Ohio. Having a unit with extensive experience in the post-operative care of surgical patients increases the opportunity for a safe, smooth recovery.
Highlights from this year's Beacon application include:
Exceptional quality outcomes related to:
Post operative infections
Ventricular infections
Ventilator associated pneumonias
Blood stream infections
Urinary tract infections
Unplanned extubations
Cutting-edge unit focused on evidence-based care
Commitment to our patients through relationship-based care
Collegial relationship among team members
Excellence in nursing education
About University Hospitals
University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked second in the nation for the care of critically ill newborns; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Ireland Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org