The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently awarded the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children’s National Health System with a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence.

The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards.

The silver-level award signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. The PICU at Children’s National earned its silver award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:

• Leadership structures and systems
• Appropriate staffing and staff engagement
• Effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development
• Evidence-based practice and processes
• Outcome measurement

“The hard work and dedication of the nurses at Children’s National is shown through the quality care they provide every day to their patients,” says Linda Talley, M.S., B.S.N., R.N., NE-BC, vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer at Children’s National. “I’m so proud of all of the critical care nurses and clinical teams that worked so hard to receive this well-deserved prestigious recognition.”

Congratulations to all of our caregivers and leadership teams across our Intensive Care Units for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence.