Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Receives Beacon Award for Excellence

Feb 12, 2018Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, News & PR

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo has earned the Beacon Award for Excellence presented by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The award recognizes the nation’s highest performing hospital patient care units for excellence in professional practice, patient care and clinical outcomes.

“We are extremely proud of our ICU nursing team for achieving this prestigious honor,” said Shari McDonald, RN, MSN, Vice President Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy Hospital. “This award not only recognizes our exceptional staff, but demonstrates our commitment to providing our patients with the highest quality care available.”

The Beacon Award acknowledges hospital units and their nursing teams who consistently set the standard for excellence in patient care. To be eligible for the award, hospital units must meet defined criteria in the following categories: Leadership Structures and Systems; Appropriate Staffing and Staff Engagement; Effective Communication, Knowledge Management and Learning Development; Evidence-Based Practice and Processes; and Outcome Measurements.

AACN President Christine Schulman, MS, RN, CNS, CCRN-K, applauds the commitment of the critical care team at Mercy Hospital for working together to meet and exceed the high standards. “The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes,” she explains. “Units that receive this recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care.”

The Beacon Award includes progressive bronze, silver and gold recognition levels, which represent ongoing efforts to continually improve patient care. Units that earn Beacon Award designation, meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.

About the Beacon Award for Excellence: 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. U.S. and Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, and learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit www.aacn.org/beacon or call (800) 899-2226.

 About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than half a million acute and critical care nurses and includes more than 200 chapters in the United States. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org, connect with the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aacnface or follow AACN on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aacnme.

 About Mercy Hospital: Mercy Hospital is home to the Catholic Health Heart Center, providing a full range of cardiac care services including heart surgery and the latest minimally invasive cardiac procedures, and serves as a Joint Commission-accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center with physician experts and capabilities to diagnose and treat the most complex stroke cases. In 2017, Mercy Hospital was recognized as a High Performing Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for heart bypass surgery and colon surgery, and was named among America’s Top 100 Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery in 2016 by HealthGrades®. The hospital is also home to the state-of-the-art Mercy Emergency Center featuring 32 private treatment rooms and a rooftop heliport, as well as the Family BirthPlace providing a full spectrum of maternity/child services, a neonatal intensive care unit and a specialized pediatric care unit. Mercy also offers a wide array of outpatient, primary care and rehabilitation services at convenient locations throughout the area, including 24/7 emergency care available at the Mercy Ambulatory Care Center in Orchard Park. Founded over 100 years ago by the Sisters of Mercy, the hospital is committed to medical excellence with an ongoing mission to reveal the healing love of Jesus to those in need.