NYC Health+Hospital/Queens’ Intensive Care Unit (ICU) received a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the largest specialty nursing organization in the world representing more than half a million acute and critical care nurses.
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. North American nursing units where patients receive their care after hospital admission qualifies for this excellence award.
Queens Hospital is the only critical care unit within the Health + Hospitals system to receive this designation for the second time, as well as being the second facility in the borough of Queens and the seventh in New York State to receive it.
The gold-level Beacon Award signifies that the hospital’s ICU maintains a positive and supportive work environment with a high degree of collaboration between colleagues and leaders, nurturing empowerment and leadership among the nursing staff.
“This impressive achievement demonstrates the commitment and dedication of our Queens ICU nurses who care for acutely ill patients and their families in the North Brooklyn community,” said Natalia Cineas, NYC Health+Hospitals senior vice president, and chief nursing executive. “The Queens ICU team exemplifies excellence in patient care, and their Beacon award is a powerful indication that they have created a supportive work environment that focuses on the highest quality of care. Queens’ exciting accomplishment is helping propel our overall nursing initiative to attain the highest levels of excellence.”
Beacon awardees are recognized for their excellent patient care environments through the use of evidence-based information to improve patient outcomes, as well as achieve greater staff and patient satisfaction.
This national recognition highlights the accomplishments of Queens Hospital in cultivating healthy work environments that produce the highest standards of quality patient care.
The ICU at Queens Hospital earned a gold award by meeting the following evidence-based criteria:
- Innovation/excellence in recruitment and retention, education, training, and mentoring
- Evidence-based practice and research
- Patient outcomes
- Creating and promoting healing environments
- Leadership and organizational ethics
NYC Health +Hospitals/Queens’ ICU joins NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue’s Coronary Care Unit and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Medical Intensive Care Unit in receiving gold-level Beacon Awards; Elmhurst’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and South Brooklyn Health’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) received silver-level Beacon Awards.
“Our entire ICU team is committed to providing our critically ill patients with high quality, comprehensive and safe care,” said Dr. Abbi-Gail Baboolal, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens chief nursing officer. “Queens Hospital’s ICU nurses are extremely proud of the care they provide, consistently meeting the needs of their patients with the highest standards of professionalism together with much-needed compassion.”
The gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by Queens Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit signifies 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.
“It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award on behalf of our highly trained and talented ICU nurses. This recognition belongs to every single one of these frontline heroes for the exceptional care they provide to members of the Southeast Queens community,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Chief Executive Officer Neil J. Moore.
