The Palliative Care Unit at North Shore University Hospital, a member of Northwell Health, has received the gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the only palliative care and advanced illness unit in the nation to be so honored.
The Beacon Award recognizes critical care units that employ evidence-based practices to improve patient and family outcomes. The award provides gold, silver and bronze levels of recognition for three years to hospital units that exemplify excellence in professional practice patient care and outcomes.
Just 188 critical care units at 126 hospitals in the United States earned the Beacon Award – only 58 of them gold – in the last year.
There are currently 592 such units overall, including 16 at Northwell Health hospitals – seven of which exist at NSUH alone.
NSUH Beacon Award winners include: Medical intensive care unit (ICU), cardiothoracic ICU, cardiac ICU, neurosurgical ICU, neonatal ICU, post-anesthesia care unit and now the palliative care unit.
“The Beacon Award recognizes excellence, top-level outcomes and a collaborative and healthy work environment,” said Irene Macyk,chief nursing officer at NSUH. “What a wonderful validation of nursing and the entire interdisciplinary team. The PCU team focuses on a shared vision expertly infused by the collaborative nurse and physician leadership and embraced by all disciplines and roles in the PCU. To be named the first palliative care unit to receive this distinguished award is a true recognition of their excellence.”
Recipients of a gold-level Beacon Award demonstrate staff-driven excellence in sustained unit performance and improved patient outcomes that exceed national benchmarks. In addition, AACN evaluates leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management and learning development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurements.
“At Northwell, we strive to provide the right care in the right place and at the right time,” said Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, chief of Division Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and medical director of Post Acute Services at Northwell. “Providing evidence-based care focused on quality of life and symptom control in a holistic manner requires a critical care approach. The North Shore University Hospital Palliative Care Unit leadership, clinicians, and especially nurses, provide just that and beautifully too. They are to be commended for receiving the Beacon Award by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.”
Northwell Health provides palliative care services through its Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. For more information, go to: https://www.northwell.edu/geriatrics-pallative-care