Children's Hospital Boston Earns Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence

First pediatric institution on the east coast to achieve Beacon status

January 7, 2009

Boston, Mass. - Children's Hospital Boston is proud to announce that its Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit (MSICU) has received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. Children's MSICU is one of the highest volume pediatric intensive care units in the United States, caring for more than 2,000 critically ill children, from newborn to college-age across a spectrum of childhood disease, annually. It is one of only a few pediatric intensive care units in the country to receive this honor and is the first on the east coast to achieve Beacon status.

The Beacon Award is given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the largest specialty nursing organization in the world, and is specifically designated to recognize the nation's top pediatric, progressive and adult critical care units across a multitude of hospitals. The recognition itself is priceless, as it represents extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, and dedication to the exceptional care of patients and their families.

"The AACN Beacon Award is a distinction bestowed upon very few pediatric critical care units nationally," said Patricia A. Hickey, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, vice president of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services at Children's. "This honor is a tribute to the exemplary staff of the MSICU at Children's who work together every day to improve outcomes for critically ill patients and their families."

As a Beacon Award recipient, the Children's MSICU succeeded in the following areas, as measured against evidence-based national criteria:

• Recruitment and retention;
• Education, training and mentoring;
• Research and evidence-based practice;
• Patient outcomes;
• Leadership and organization ethics; and
• Healing environment

For more information on the Beacon Award or AACN, call (800) 899-2226. Application information and requirements are available at www.aacn.org.

Contact:
Erin McColgan
617-919-3110
erin.mccolgan@childrens.harvard.edu

Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is one of the nation's leading pediatric medical centers, the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and the largest provider of health care to Massachusetts children. In addition to 396 pediatric and adolescent inpatient beds and more than 100 outpatient programs, Children's houses the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries benefit both children and adults. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 13 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. For more information about the hospital visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.