BRIDGEPORT, CT (September 19, 2024) – 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 unit 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 implemented by our nursing workforce,” said Mary Christofferson, DNP, MBA, chief nursing officer at Bridgeport Hospital.
“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 for Excellence earned by the SICU at Bridgeport Hospital shows 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.
“We congratulate the Bridgeport Campus SICU on its remarkable achievement of being awarded the prestigious Beacon Gold Award, the highest level of recognition. 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, DNP, RN, director of nursing at Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport Hospital.
About the Beacon Award for Excellence: Established in 2003, the Beacon Award for Excellence offers a road map to help guide exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall patient satisfaction. U.S. and Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, and learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit www.aacn.org/beacon.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than half a million acute and critical care nurses and includes more than 200 chapters in the United States. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org.
Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital). Both Bridgeport Hospital and the Milford Campus of Bridgeport Hospital serve patients throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. The hospital admits more than 30,000 patients and provides over 600,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 80 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost-efficient care to its patients and the community. It has the prestigious Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. www.bridgeporthospital.org
