‘Exceptional Care’: Three Intensive Care Units at ChristianaCare Earn Beacon Awards for Excellence

Recognizing ChristianaCare for top-tier complex care, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has again awarded the Beacon Award for Excellence to three intensive care units at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware: The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), the Surgical Critical Care Complex (SCCC) and the Transitional Surgical Unit (TSU).

Beacon Awards honor critical-care nursing units which demonstrate exceptional patient care, improved patient health outcomes, a supportive work environment and opportunities for collaboration.

“The Beacon Award shines a light on individual nursing units for their commitment to providing critically ill patients with exceptional care and evidence-based practices,” said Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC, chief nurse executive at ChristianaCare. “These awards reflect nursing excellence and commitment to top health outcomes, an outstanding work environment and superior patient experience.”

• The MICU has 24 beds, with 95 nurses who provide evidence-based care to patients with varied conditions. Many patients who are admitted to the unit have serious respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and COVID-19; kidney failure that requires continuous dialysis; gastrointestinal bleeding; or sepsis, a severe infection of the bloodstream.
• The SCCC is a 22-bed trauma-surgical intensive care unit with 75 specially trained nurses. Patients who are sent to the unit often have experienced critical trauma or require complex surgical and vascular care.
• The TSU has 12 beds for trauma and surgical patients, kidney transplant recipients and patients with complex vascular conditions. The unit’s 35 nurses provide exceptional care to patients using the latest protocols.

The Beacon recognitions for these units come alongside ChristianaCare’s fourth consecutive Magnet designation for excellence in nursing, announced in March.

Consecutive successes

Each of these units has received Beacon Awards previously:

• The MICU has been continuously recognized as a Beacon unit since 2009. It is the sixth time that the MICU—Delaware’s first Beacon Award-winning unit—has received the national award with four silver and two gold recognitions. The unit holds the most Beacon Awards in Delaware.
• The SCCC received a silver-level award for the fourth time.
• The TSU received a gold-level award for the first time, after receiving two silver-level awards.

“For us to be designated for such a consecutive amount of time is a testament to the ongoing, intensive work that we do and the focus on excellence that we have,” said Carol Ritter, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNML, nurse manager for the MICU.

“It’s an affirmation of the care that the nurses provide and the excellence that they bring every day, using advanced protocols and the latest technology and research.”

Beacon-designated units are renowned for their healthy work environments and high morale, which results in strong relationships among the nurses and outstanding patient care.

“This award is an absolute reflection of every single nurse in SCCC and TSU – some of the most dedicated, compassionate human beings,” said Amanda Latina, MSN, MBA, RN, TCRN, nurse manager of the TSU and SCCC. “Our nurses are committed to providing exceptional care and patient outcomes, ensuring that every single patient is cared for. They take care of one another and really embody what it means to be a critical-care nurse.”

Nurses in ChristianaCare’s Beacon-awarded units have developed deep interpersonal connections with each other, and they function as a cohesive team.

“We stand by one another through crisis and loss, we rally together during stressful, unimaginable moments, and we’re so passionate about our work,” said Laurie Drake, BSN, CCRN, RN, of the SCCC. “The Beacon recognition represents the unity, support, incredible teamwork and work ethic that we all share.”

‘When you can’t be here, we’re their family’

A Beacon designation also instills confidence in patients and families, conveying that a unit provides high-quality patient care.

“They see that we’ve been recognized by a national organization for the care we provide,” said Ellen Alvarez, MEd, BSN, RN, CCRM, of the MICU. “They know that the people caring for their loved ones are highly trained, compassionate, caring individuals. We tell family members, ‘When you can’t be here, we’re their family.’ The award backs that up.”

The TSU and SCCC are sister units, Latina said, so it’s meaningful that both have been recognized with Beacon Awards.

“We’ve cross-trained TSU nurses to come to SCCC,” Latina said. “We’ve closed communication gaps and have seen exceptional patient care between the two units. Having these units both be Beacon really speaks to the quality of the nursing team.”

Of the seven Beacon Award-winning patient care units currently in Delaware, all are at ChristianaCare. The others are the Neuro Critical Care Unit (silver), the Cardiovascular Stepdown Unit 4E (silver), the Cardiovascular Critical Care Complex (three-time gold winner), and the Transitional Medical Unit and 3C Intermediate Medical Unit (silver).