The Vanderbilt University Hospital Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) has been awarded a Gold Level Beacon Award for Excellence by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).
This award was created by the AACN in 2003 to acknowledge and recognize specific units within a hospital system where direct care nurses have the greatest impact on patient outcomes. For patients, a unit with this designation demonstrates outstanding care. For nurses, it signifies a positive, supportive working environment with exceptional collaboration, high morale and low turnover.
“The MICU leadership team, staff and faculty have long demonstrated performance consistent with the Beacon Award,” said Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer of Vanderbilt University Hospital. “They have built a culture that promotes respect between disciplines, establishing rigorous, evidence-based standards of practice and disciplined attention to reliable care delivery. These characteristics set them apart.”
The MICU submitted an extensive application to the AACN last year highlighting excellence in three areas — patient outcomes, work environment and nursing workforce. The recognition places the MICU at the highest level of recognition possible in all three categories.
“Our Mission in the MICU is to deliver compassionate, high quality, goal-oriented care through all aspects of the acute, rehabilitation, recovery and grieving phases of illness,” said Caroline Gardner, RN, a clinical staff leader in the MICU. “Receiving a Gold Level Beacon Award honors our staff’s exemplary efforts, encourages ongoing progress and highlights our team’s commitment to the holistic well-being of our patients and families. This is a tremendous honor that celebrates the work culture and patient environment the MICU team has worked so diligently to create.”
According to the award criteria, the MICU is recognized as one of the highest performing units in the country.
“This is truly a testament to the MICU staff’s unwavering commitment to the care we provide patients and their families as well as the support and teamwork we offer each other,” said Lee Ann Liska, MBA, president of Vanderbilt University Hospital.
