Nurse leader Carol Flores-Gopez receives national honor

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has honored Carol Flores-Gopez, MSN, MHA, RN, CCRN, NE-BC, nurse manager, Cardiovascular Critical Care Complex (CVCCC), with its 2019 Circle of Excellence Award.

The award is given annually to outstanding nurses nationwide for achieving excellent outcomes in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families.

This month, 14 honorees will be recognized at AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in Orlando, Florida.

“Carol leads an exceptional nursing team at the CVCCC that has earned AACN Gold Beacon status continuously since 2013,” said Ric Cuming, Ed.D., RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, chief nurse executive. “It was inevitable that the AACN would induct her into its revered Circle of Excellence.”

Flores-Gopez joined Christiana Care in 1991. She was assistant nurse manager and patient care coordinator of the CVCCC for 14 years before being promoted to nurse manager of the unit in 2016. Her previous experience included nursing at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, N.Y., and the Philippine Heart Center for Asia.

She has been recognized as a Top Nurse by Delaware Today magazine and as an Excellence in Nursing awardee at Christiana Care.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, and master’s degrees in Nursing and Health Administration from the University of Phoenix. She is certified in critical care nursing and is a certified nurse executive.

Criteria used to evaluate Circle of Excellence Award candidates include relentless promotion of patient-driven excellence; communication skills; true collaboration; effective decision-making; meaningful recognition of others; ability to transform thinking, structures and processes; and ability to address challenges and remove barriers to excellent patient care and achieve visible results through leadership.