The Intensive Care Unit at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, a member of Catholic Health, has earned the 2019 Silver Beacon Award for Excellence, presented by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses to recognize the nation's highest performing hospital ICUs.  

It was the first hospital in the Buffalo area to receive the Beacon Award in 2012; this is its third consecutive award. Currently only 54 hospitals in New York state have received this award, which is given to ICUs that consistently exhibit high quality standards, exceptional care of patients and families, and healthy work environments.

Created to recognize individual nursing care units that distinguish themselves in the care of patients and their families, the Beacon Award for Excellence is a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and a healthy work environment.

"We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality patient care outcomes, through essential staff training and effective recruitment and retention of our nurses," said Kristen Parisi, RN, CCRN-K, BSN, nurse manager of the Kenmore Mercy ICU. "Beacon represents collaboration of all staff members and providers who care for patients in the ICU."

The critical care team is comprised of physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, nursing attendants, patient care managers, clinical educators, respiratory therapists, dieticians, pharmacists, physical therapists, chaplains, clerks and housekeeping.

AACN President Lisa Riggs, MSN, APRN-BC, CCRN-K, applauds the commitment of the caregivers of Kenmore Mercy's ICU for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses requires that national standards and benchmarks for quality and safety in the delivery of critical care medicine are met and exceeded for the Beacon Award to be granted. Ventilator-associated pneumonia, hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, patient falls, blood culture contamination, and catheter-related sepsis are just a few of the quality indicators the AACN reviews in evaluating a critical care unit for a Beacon Award. Patient outcomes in Kenmore Mercy's ICU consistently exceed national benchmarks.

"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," Riggs explained.

The three-year designation, presented in bronze, silver and gold categories, recognizes ICUs that meet national criteria consistent with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award, and Magnet Recognition, which Kenmore Mercy Hospital received in 2017.

To earn the distinction, Kenmore Mercy submitted a 50-page document that summarized progress made in the ICU in the past three years since it last received the Beacon Award.

"Recipients of the Beacon Award set the standard for excellence in health care," said Cheryl W. Hayes, RN, MS, ANP, NEA-BC, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Kenmore Mercy Hospital.