CLEVELAND – University Hospitals Case Medical Center’s Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) has been awarded the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. The MICU is the only intensive care unit in the country to receive this top honor from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) over five consecutive years.
“This is truly outstanding that our Medical Intensive Care Unit stands out among all others in the country having won this significant award five years in a row,” says Catherine Koppelman, RN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of UHCMC. “Our nurses’ dedication to caring for the most critically ill patients has led our MICU earning the highest praise from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.”
“We applaud our MICU staff and their unparalleled nursing care, teamwork, outcomes and innovation,” says Jane Dus, RN, Vice President of Medical Surgical Nursing, UHCMC. “It is their abiding commitment to patient-centered care and quality that has won them this elite honor once again.”
“We applaud our MICU staff and their unparalleled nursing care, teamwork, outcomes and innovation,” says Jane Dus, RN, Vice President of Medical Surgical Nursing, UHCMC. “It is their abiding commitment to patient-centered care and quality that has won them this elite honor once again.”
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:
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Recognized excellence in the intensive care environments in which nurses work and critically ill patients live;
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Recognized excellence of the highest quality measures, processes, structures and outcomes based upon evidence;
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Recognized excellence in collaboration, communication, and partnerships that support the value of healing and humane environments;
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Developed a program that contributes to actualization of AACN’s mission, vision and values.
UHCMC’s Medical ICU is a 20-bed unit caring for the most critically ill medical patients in Northeast Ohio. Highlights from this year’s Beacon application included:
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Exceptional quality outcomes related to:
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Strong sense of interdisciplinary engagement
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Commitment to patient and family centered care
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Consistent use of evidence based medicine/practice
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Dynamic and cohesive team approach to problem solving
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Excellence in communication