RAPID CITY, S.D. – Feb. 24, 2025 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), Aliso Viejo, California, recently conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on Heart and Vascular Unit (HVU) at Rapid City Hospital.
The Beacon Award for Excellence — a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments — recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this annual, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
“Earning the Beacon Award for Excellence represents a pivotal milestone in our Heart and Vascular Unit’s journey toward clinical excellence. This achievement reflects our team’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional patient care while fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment,” said Tasha Frisinger, MSN, RN, CMNL, Monument Health Vice President of Nursing. “Our caregivers have demonstrated remarkable dedication to improving patient outcomes through evidence-based practices. I am immensely proud of our team’s achievement and excited to see how this foundation will propel us toward even greater excellence in patient care.”
AACN President Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, applauds the commitment of the caregivers at HVU at Rapid City Hospital for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence. These dedicated healthcare professionals join other members of our exceptional community of nurses, who set the standard for optimal patient care.
“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in outstanding units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care,” she explains.
The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by HVU at Rapid City Hospital signifies an effective approach to policies, procedures and processes that includes engagement of staff and key stakeholders. The unit has evaluation and improvement strategies in place and good performance measures when compared to relevant benchmarks. HVU at Rapid City Hospital 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 and Learning and Development
· Evidence-Based Practice and Processes
· Outcome Measurement
The other Beacon Award designations are gold and bronze. Gold-level awardees demonstrate an effective and systematic approach to policies, procedures and processes that includes engagement of staff and key stakeholders; fact-based evaluation strategies for continuous process improvement; and performance measures that meet or exceed relevant benchmarks. Recipients who earn a bronze-level award are beginning the journey to excellence, which includes developing systematic policies, processes and procedures; identifying opportunities for staff participation; and recognizing the need to develop cycles of evaluation and improvement.
About the Beacon Award for Excellence: Established in 2003, the Beacon Award for Excellence offers a road map to help guide exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall patient satisfaction. U.S. and Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, and learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit www.aacn.org/beacon or call 800-899-2226.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than half a million acute and critical care nurses and includes more than 200 chapters in the United States. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org, connect with the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aacnface or follow AACN on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aacnme.
About Monument Health
Headquartered in Rapid City, S.D., Monument Health is a community-based health care system with a mission to make a difference, every day. The system offers care in 31 medical specialties and serves 14 communities across western South Dakota and in eastern Wyoming. With over 5,000 physicians and caregivers, Monument Health is composed of 5 hospitals and 38 medical clinics and specialty centers. Monument Health is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.