Have a great critical care unit that is operating at top of practice? You should consider recognizing the outstanding commitment and performance of the unit by submitting for the Beacon Award of Excellence.
The Beacon Award is a national recognition granted by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) to critical care units that demonstrate exceptional patient care, a healthy work environment, and continuous improvement.
There are three levels of the award—gold, silver, and bronze—each reflecting how well the unit meets the AACN’s rigorous standards in areas like leadership, evidence-based practice, patient outcomes, staffing, and professional development.
To qualify, units must submit a detailed application that includes performance data, staff engagement practices, and examples of excellence in clinical outcomes and patient safety. Awards are designed to highlight units that set the standard in collaborative, patient-centered care.
The Beacon Award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in acute and critical care nursing. We spoke with four of the nurse leaders who participated in the Beacon Award submission at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, to learn more about the submission process and the effect the award has had on their organization.
How Is the Beacon Award Scored?
Applicants submit the same core data, which is evaluated on quantitative benchmarks and qualitative narratives that showcase a unit’s culture and patient-centered success stories.
“They have different people who score each part of the application. The evaluators who are looking at your quantitative data don’t get to see your qualitative stories, so the totality of the content has an unbiased review,” explained Melissa Parker, BSN, RN, CCRN, Clinical Educator and Staff RN in the OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital Medical Intensive Care Unit 2 (MICU 2).
The application is graded according to how well the submission compares to national benchmarks, and the scoring is cumulative. The quantitative and qualitative scores are combined to determine the final designation.
The Journey at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital
We had a lively conversation with nursing leaders at Riverside Methodist Hospital, who shared some of their experiences with the Beacon Award submission and what it meant for their hospital and the first critical care unit of the five at Riverside that achieved this honor. Unlike many initiatives that begin at the leadership level, this Beacon journey started with bedside nurses. After attending the AACN’s National Teaching Institute (NTI) conference, staff members returned energized and inspired to pursue the designation. With strong managerial support and clear momentum from within the team, the unit launched a grassroots effort to meet Beacon criteria.
“In 2022, we received a three-year designation and then became part of the transition to the annual designation cycle. Although the frequency increased, we liked the shift. The quantitative piece is comparable but includes just one year of data instead of three,” Parker explained.
“The qualitative portions have decreased significantly. In the first application, the questions were very directed, but now they ask for a couple of stories that you can tell about the unit that exemplifies great patient outcomes,” she continued.
This experience has become a model of staff-led excellence, one that continues to guide conversations with other departments and inspire potential staff.
The Application Process – Inside the MICU 2
Preparing a Beacon Award application is no small task. At Riverside’s MICU 2, the process has become a well-organized, yearlong effort. For the 2024 designation, preparation began in fall 2023, when the team administered the Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT). This was a new AACN requirement designed to evaluate staff perceptions of leadership, support, recognition, workplace safety, and culture. Although the content mirrors earlier three-year cycles in terms of quantitative benchmarks, the updated format gives more flexibility in how units tell their stories. What truly distinguishes Riverside’s approach is its staff-led model.
“We’re doing it intentionally to put the application in the hands of the staff. We want them to know that leaders are here to support them, but we put identifying who wants to be a writer, who wants to be a reviser, who wants to collect data… in their hands,” shared Stefanie Miller, BS, BSN, RN, CCRN, Clinical Nurse Manager in the MICU 2.
By integrating staff voices throughout the application, the MICU 2 team ensures their submission reflects the day-to-day reality of high-quality, compassionate care.
Expert Perspectives and Broader Context
The Beacon Award is more than a badge of honor. It’s a national signal of clinical excellence. The MICU 2 team sees the award as both a source of pride and a validation of daily practice.
“Beacon gives us an opportunity to speak to and celebrate how we’re doing, like the things that we’re doing well. It lets us put that out for others to recognize, too,” Karissa Bethel, MBA, BSN, RN, Administrative Nurse Manager in the MICU 2 shared. “We share information about the award during interviews as we share what the unit has accomplished.”
During our conversation, the nurse leaders highlighted the shift from merely implementing improvements to sustaining and evaluating the long-term impact on nurse retention and patient outcomes, an insight echoed by AACN’s emphasis on continuous growth. Beacon recognition positions a unit within a select group of organizations that overlaps with other national distinctions like Magnet® Designation. This reinforces a broader commitment to organizational excellence and nurse-driven innovation.
A Staff-Driven Approach to the Beacon Award
For hospitals or nursing units considering the Beacon journey, the team at Riverside offers one clear message: don’t wait to be perfect—start where you are.
As Miller explained, “A lot of what’s in the application, you’re probably already doing. Now you just need to tell people about it.”
At Riverside, the storytelling began by involving staff early. Leaders provided structure and support, but the narrative came directly from the bedside. “It really is an award that’s staff-driven,” Amy Sayers, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Manager of Nursing Excellence at Riverside Methodist Hospital, emphasized.
The team also leaned heavily on internal resources to gather data and support benchmark tracking. They recommend that units without a dedicated Beacon coordinator, tap into these cross-functional teams, which can make the process manageable.
Beacon evaluators offer feedback during the process, which Riverside used to continue its improvements. “The feedback we got from our first Beacon application showed us where we had growth opportunities… and how to seek out resources to continue evaluating the changes we do,” Miller noted.
Above all, Riverside encourages others to embrace the opportunity. The act of pursuing the Beacon Award strengthens collaboration, highlights accomplishments, and empowers nurses to lead quality improvements from the front lines.