Published date: July 23, 2019
The CVICU, which provides comprehensive surgical and intensive care for Arkansas children with heart disease and defects, becomes the second unit at ACH to receive this national designation. The AACN recognized the ACH Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), which cares for the state’s most critically ill and injured children, with a Silver-Level Beacon Award in 2018. They are the only intensive care units in the state to be awarded this honor.
The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
“This Silver-Level Beacon Award further demonstrates our commitment to creating a better today and healthier tomorrow for Arkansas children,” said Lee Anne Eddy, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for ACH. “We are proud of the dedication our CVICU team pours into creating excellent patient and family-centered care.”
The CVICU is a component of the Heart Center at ACH, with two cardiovascular operating rooms, two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs, heart-lung bypass technology and outpatient services that include regional clinics. The Heart Center at ACH provides comprehensive congenital cardiac care for a lifetime, from fetal echo interpretation before a baby is born to full support for adults with congenital heart disease.
The Silver-Level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s CVICU signifies an effective approach to policies, procedures and processes that includes engagement of staff and key stakeholders. The unit has evaluation and improvement strategies in place and good performance measures when compared to relevant benchmarks.
The CVICU at ACH earned its Silver-Level Award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:
The other Beacon Award designations are gold and bronze. Gold-level awardees demonstrate an effective and systematic approach to policies, procedures and processes that includes engagement of staff and key stakeholders; fact-based evaluation strategies for continuous process improvement; and performance measures that meet or exceed relevant benchmarks. Recipients who earn a bronze-level award are beginning the journey to excellence, which includes developing systematic policies, processes and procedures; identifying opportunities for staff participation; and recognizing the need to develop cycles of evaluation and improvement.
Arkansas Children's, Inc. is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 710,000 children, giving the organization a unique ability to shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas and transform the health of children throughout the region. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Additionally, ACH is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in five pediatric subspecialties (2019-2020): Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, opened in Springdale in early 2018. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can fundamentally transform the health of children in Arkansas and beyond. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.
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.
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