St. Cloud Hospital Intensive Care Unit recognized with Silver Beacon Award for Excellence

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Cloud Hospital is honored to be a recipient of the Silver Level Beacon Award for Excellence. This is the fourth time the ICU has received the Beacon Award given by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). St. Cloud Hospital achieved Silver for sustained unit performance and patient outcomes.

The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by the Intensive Care Unit at St. Cloud Hospital signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care.

The award recognizes hospitals that:

• Use a consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care which optimizes patient outcomes;
• Provide exceptional care of patients and their families; and
• Demonstrate excellence in collaboration, communication and partnerships that support the value of healing and healthy work environments.

The Beacon Award recognizes individual units that improve every facet of patient care. For patients and their families, the Beacon Award signifies exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall satisfaction.

St. Cloud Hospital ICU initiatives have:

• Decreased mortality rate for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock from 48 percent in 2004 to 23 percent in 2015;
• Decreased catheter associated urinary tract infection rate from 2.88 to 1.80 (rate/1000 catheter days); and
• Decreased the average ventilator hours by 15 percent using an early mobility protocol.