Shapiro 8 Recognized with Beacon Award for Excellence
Shapiro 8
Shapiro 8, a Cardiovascular stepdown unit, recently received a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).
The Beacon Award recognizes units for their exceptional patient care and dedication to improving patient outcomes. According to the AACN, recipients provide evidence-based care with a steadfast commitment to a healthy work environment and patient and staff satisfaction.
This honor reflects the high-quality, safe and compassionate patient-centered care that staff on Shapiro 8 provide.
“Receiving the Beacon Award is a tremendous honor,” said Santina Wilson, BSN, RN, PCCN, one of the authors of the application. “It’s a testament to our commitment to providing excellent patient care as well as a healthy work environment for our staff.”
AACN reviewers highlighted multiple strengths for the team, including a strong focus on collaboration and communication among unit leaders and staff, as well as their systematic approach to decision-making and process improvement. Reviewers noted that the unit’s communication approaches and tools optimize patient outcomes through unit champions and staff engagement.
Reviewers commented in their report: “The unit’s pain management tools, including a validated pain scale, supports effective pain management and fosters quality care experiences. Unit staff also stays current with the latest clinical advances and fosters the acquisition of new knowledge to support and promote quality patient outcomes and clinical practice with evidence-based research.”
Andrea Fonseca, MSN, RN, ANP-C, another author of the application, added, “Receiving this award reinforces all the work we’ve done over the years to ensure we have processes in place to maintain high quality care and to foster growth within our staff.”
Susan Williams, DNP, RN, CCTN, nursing director, said that she was immensely proud of the Shapiro 8 team. “Their collective vision, diverse skillset and steadfast dedication played a pivotal role in receiving this award. Embracing core values such as accountability, commitment, industriousness, strategic prioritization, mutual respect, compassion and leading by example are central to our approach.”
In addition to Wilson, Fonseca and Williams, the application authors include Kathleen Callahan, MSN, RN, PCCN; Kayla Eldayaa, BSN, RN; Denise Fay, BSN, RN; Hannah French, BSN, RN; Kelly Grimes, BSN, RN; and Karen Hanrahan, BSN, RNCC.