FORT WAYNE — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently awarded the Inpatient Cardiac Unit at Parkview Heart Institute with a silver- level Beacon Award for Excellence, which recognizes caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with the AACN’s Healthy Work Environment Standards.

The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by the Parkview Heart Institute signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. The Parkview Heart Institute earned the award by meeting the following evidence-based award criteria: Leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement.

“Providing excellent care to every person every day is at the forefront of our mission,” said Michael GeRue, chief operating officer, Parkview Heart Institute, and senior vice president of cardiovascular services, Parkview Health. “The everyday practices recognized by the AACN show that our caregivers are both invested in that mission and dedicated to providing the quality care that the community has come to expect from Parkview.”

According to nurse leaders on the unit, the AACN highlighted several practices within the Parkview Heart Institute as exceeding the standards and significantly impacting patient care, including:

• Co-worker involvement in the selection and on-boarding of new nurses
• Formal structures and processes that support a healthy work environment and ensure effective and respectful information sharing among patients, families, and health care teams
• Hardwiring quality-care practices into the unit that support Parkview’s mission
• A structured and multi-faceted system for providing on-going staff education

“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care,” said AACN President Clareen Wiencek, RN, PhD, ACNP, ACHPN.