GMC’s AICU nurses honored with Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence

Geisinger Medical Center's Adult Intensive Care Unit (AICU) nurses were recently recognized with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. Created by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the award recognizes adult critical care, adult progressive care and pediatric critical care units that achieve high-quality outcomes and exemplify excellence in professional practice, patient care and outcomes.

GMC's AICU is one of only 11 critical care units in Pennsylvania and one of 188 critical care units nationwide, out of more than 6,000 eligible units, to be recognized with the award.

"The Beacon Award is given to critical care units with nurses that meet the highest guidelines for excellence and that continually produce high-quality outcomes," said Angelo Venditti, R.N., BSN, CNML, NE-BC, Operations Manager for GMC's AICU. "We pride ourselves on providing patients with the best care, and it is extremely gratifying to become part of such a select group of critical care units in the country to be recognized for our efforts."

GMC's AICU is a 24-bed medical, surgical and trauma intensive care unit that provides state-of-the-art critical nursing and physician care. AICU clinicians provide care to trauma, critically ill and surgical patients as well as those in neurosurgical crisis, respiratory failure or sepsis.

The announcement of the Beacon Award comes as GMC celebrates its one-year anniversary of being named a Magnet hospital. Magnet hospitals are recognized for providing patients with outstanding nursing care.

"We are incredibly proud of our critical care nurses for being recognized with the prestigious Beacon Award," said Sue Hallick, R.N., BSN, MHA NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer, Geisinger Health System. "We set extremely high standards for all of our nurses, and this recognition speaks to the high level of care our critical care nurses provide patients with every day."