The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recognized 185 units from 134 hospitals that earned the Beacon Award for Excellence from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2022.
The Beacon Award for Excellence lauds hospital units that employ evidence-based practices to improve patient and family outcomes. The award provides gold, silver and bronze levels of recognition to hospital units that exemplify excellence in professional practice, patient care and outcomes. Recognition is for a three-year term.
AACN President Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, praises the exemplary efforts of the unit teams who achieved the Beacon Award for Excellence.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beacon units were truly a light showing the way forward, as these teams demonstrated an ongoing and steadfast commitment to providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care to patients and families. This achievement is not only a tremendous honor, but it also provides meaningful recognition of their efforts to achieve excellence in patient care and create a healthy work environment."
Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, AACN President
Units that receive the Beacon Award demonstrate practices that align with AACN's Healthy Work Environment standards. Beacon-designated units meet the criteria in five categories, all of which are consistent with other national awards, including the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and National Quality Forum's Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality awards.
Results from AACN's most recent national nurse work environment study indicate that nurses who work in Beacon units and units in the process of obtaining Beacon recognition report healthier work environments and higher quality of patient care than nurses who don't work in Beacon units.
Recipients of a gold-level Beacon Award demonstrate staff-driven excellence in sustained unit performance and improved patient outcomes that exceed national benchmarks. Silver-level recipients demonstrate continual learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. Bronze-level awardees demonstrate success in developing, deploying and integrating unit-based performance criteria for optimal outcomes.
In all, 66 units received gold-level Beacon awards, the program's highest distinction. Among the 2022 recipients, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, in Orlando, Florida, had five units recognized with gold-level awards. Morristown Medical Center, New Jersey, had three units earn gold-level awards, with another two units earning silver-level awards. University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, also had five units receive Beacon awards in 2022 – three silver and two gold. Eight other hospitals had two units recognized with gold-level awards.
The only international hospital recognized in 2022 was Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, in Colombia, a first for the country. Three units at the hospital received silver-level Beacon awards, and a fourth unit earned a bronze-level award.
A total of 34 hospitals had multiple units honored with an award in 2022, demonstrating a system-wide approach to caring for acutely and critically ill patients and their families.
In all, 29 units at 18 Texas hospitals attained Beacon status in 2022, the most for any state.
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