Saint Peter’s University Hospital Earns Four Prestigious Silver Beacon Awards for Excellence in Critical Care

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 unit outcomes and align practices with AACN's six Healthy Work Environment Standards: skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership. Units that earn this annual award with a gold, silver, or bronze designation meet specific criteria established by AACN that represent the characteristics and components of the unit environment that nurses can influence to achieve nursing excellence. Many units provide exceptional patient care; however, those recognized with the Beacon Award distinguish themselves by excelling in key areas such as patient outcomes, nursing workforce development, and work environment, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to safe, evidence-based, high-quality care.

"I have always believed that our nursing staff at Saint Peter's is exceptional, but receiving recognition from a third party, for not only one, but four distinct units that provide care to our most vulnerable patients in the most complex of circumstances, is an extraordinary distinction," said Linda Carroll, MSN, RN, RN-BC, vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Saint Peter's Healthcare System.

"This recognition reflects the culture of excellence that defines Saint Peter's," said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Peter's Healthcare System. "The Beacon Award recognizes the commitment, compassion, and clinical expertise that our Adult ICU, PICU, NICU, and CPCU teams bring to every patient interaction and reinforces Saint Peter's reputation for excellence in critical care."

The hospital recently completed construction of a brand-new, state-of-the-art PICU, something made possible by the generosity of the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation and a $10 million state appropriation supported by New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and the legislative delegation of Assemblyman Joseph Danielsen, Assemblyman Kevin Egan and Senator Bob Smith.
AACN President Rebekah Marsh praises the commitment that unit teams who achieve the Beacon Award for Excellence demonstrate by providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care to patients and families.

"Congratulations to our AACN Beacon teams for showing what nurses can do when we practice in a healthy work environment," she said. "This meaningful recognition is more than a point of pride; it demonstrates a commitment to cultivating a thriving workplace, one in which nurses and other team members are empowered to make their optimal contributions."

To learn more about Saint Peter's recognitions, visit saintpetershcs.com/awards.

About Saint Peter's University Hospital
Saint Peter's University Hospital, a member of Saint Peter's Healthcare System, is a 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Saint Peter's, which received its seventh consecutive designation as a Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2025, and its first Magnet with Distinction®, is also a state-designated children's hospital and regional perinatal center, and a regional specialist in diabetes, gastroenterology, head and neck surgery, oncology, orthopedics, and women's services. Saint Peter's has Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care and Level IV Maternal Levels of Care Verification from the Joint Commission. Saint Peter's is the recipient of the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for the adult intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, cardiac progressive care unit and the pediatric intensive care unit. Saint Peter's Children's Hospital provides families with access to a full range of pediatric specialties, including a nationally recognized Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, pediatric cardiology, pediatric surgery and orthopedic surgery featuring innovative anterior scoliosis correction. The hospital has the state's only hospital-based, midwifery-led birth center - the Mary V. O'Shea Birth Center, accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. Saint Peter's is a sponsor of residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and internal medicine, and is a major clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Visit saintpetershcs.com or call 732.745.8600.

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 qualifies 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.