HERSHEY, Pa. — When the Heart and Vascular Progressive Care Unit (HVPCU) at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center opened in 2011, staff vowed to care for each patient as if they were caring for a loved one.
That care has once again earned national recognition.
The 24-bed unit received its second gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses in November following its first in 2015. The Beacon Awards honor hospital units throughout North America that use evidence-based practices to improve patient and family outcomes. The designation is awarded every three years in three levels ― gold, silver and bronze.
The HVPCU is one of six gold-level Beacon award winners in Pennsylvania and one of two at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The Medical Intensive Care Unit also achieved gold-level certification in 2016, and the Surgical Anesthesia Intensive Care Unit earned silver in January 2018.
“This award signifies that patient outcomes and satisfaction matter to our staff,” said Julie Werner, HVPCU nurse manager. “Our nurses hold each other accountable, educate one another, and have a say in what happens here.”
“We are a team-oriented unit,” she said. “This award shows that our nurses’ hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.”