UofL Hospital unit receives national Beacon Award for Excellence

A unit at University of Louisville Hospital has been nationally recognized for exceptional patient care, earning the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

Beacon recipients meet high standards for patient care by collecting and using evidence-based information to improve outcomes, patient and staff satisfaction and credibility with consumers, according to AACN.

UofL Hospital’s 5 South Unit – a 16-bed mixed acuity unit that provides comprehensive and complex care to surgical, trauma, medical and cancer patients – received the bronze level designation, which is in place for three years.

“The unit has great patient satisfaction and outcomes, great nursing engagement and our retention rate of nursing staff is high,” said Cathy Barth, R.N., interim director of mixed acuity units at UofL Hospital. “The award speaks to the collaborative culture of the unit, how the nurses work together as a team and the high level of best care practices demonstrated.”

UofL Hospital is one of only four facilities in Kentucky with a unit that currently has a Beacon designation.

For staff recruiting and retention, the award signifies a positive and supportive work environment with exceptional collaboration among colleagues and leaders, high morale and low turnover, according to AACN.

“Recipients of the Beacon Award set the standard for excellence in health care,” said Shari Kretzschmer, R.N., M.S.N., M.B.A., N.E.A.-B.C., vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at UofL Hospital and the Brown Cancer Center. “As an academic hospital, our nursing staff and providers are not only dedicated to high-level patient care, but are enthusiastic about improving patient outcomes and patient and staff satisfaction using evidence-based practices. Receiving this award emphasizes the importance of our academic and patient-centered care mission.”

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UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with nine hospitals, four medical centers, Brown Cancer Center, Eye Institute, nearly 200 physician practice locations, and more than 1,000 providers in Louisville and the surrounding counties, including southern Indiana. Additional access to UofL Health is provided through a partnership with Carroll County Memorial Hospital. Affiliated with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, UofL Health is committed to providing patients with access to the most advanced care available. This includes clinical trials, collaboration on research and the development of new technologies to both save and improve lives. With more than 14,000 team members – physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly-skilled health care professionals, UofL Health is focused on one mission: to transform the health of communities we serve through compassionate, innovative, patient-centered care.

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