Texas Health Fort Worth earns Beacon Award

Cardiac Progressive Care Unit recognized as the first facility in North Texas designated by national nursing organization

Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth’s Cardiac Progressive Care Unit (PCU) was recently awarded a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence by the The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

The unit is among a group of only 38 cardiac PCUs nationwide that have earned a Beacon Award for Excellence. It is also the only PCU facility in North Texas recognized with a Beacon Award, with the next closest facility in Houston. A news release explained that the silver-level award signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care.

“The nurses are really the shining stars, but support staff and caregivers throughout the hospital contribute to successes like this,” Joseph DeLeon, Texas Health Fort Worth president, said in the release. “To take care of the needs of our patients and their families requires the collective effort of many people.”

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This is the hospital’s third silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence, the release said. Last year, Texas Health Fort Worth earned a Beacon Award for its Neurosurgical ICU and for its Cardiac Care Unit.

Texas Health Fort Worth’s PCU is a 13-bed unit located in the hospital’s Heart Center, offering intermediate cardiac care to patients suffering from various illnesses including congestive heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, chest pain and arrhythmias. Many patients in the unit undergo treatments to have pacemakers or internal cardiac defibrillators implanted.

Texas Health Fort Worth’s heart and vascular program includes screenings to aid in early detection and advanced diagnostics for complex heart disease, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to address various types of heart and vascular problems.

The award, est. 2003, recognizes hospital units that demonstrate improved patient outcomes and unit performance in alignment with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards.

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“Being recognized with this award in three different areas of patient care continues to emphasize the type of nurses we have here,” Jennifer Mayhan, Texas Health Fort Worth’s Heart & Vascular Services director, said in the release. “Compassionate and confident individuals are just a couple of words that define our nurses, and these men and women are committed to providing quality, customized care to Fort Worth residents and those in our surrounding communities. The Beacon award exemplifies all of our efforts, and we’re humbled to be able to help those seeking cardiac care.”

In order to be considered for the Beacon Award for Excellence, Texas Health Fort Worth had to meet criteria established by the AACN including:

– Leadership structures and systems;

– Appropriate staffing and staff engagement;

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– Effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development;

– Evidence-based practices and processes; and

– Outcome measurement.

PCU charge nurse Angela Thomas agrees. She serves as an extra set of eyes for the entire 13-bed unit.

“We present best practices and evidence-based research in cardiac care, as an educational tool to influence patient outcomes for the better,” Thomas said in the release.

Texas Health Fort Worth and other Beacon Award winners will be honored in May at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in Boston.