STONY BROOK, NY, May 6, 2025 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has recognized Stony Brook University Hospital’s respiratory and medical ICR with a Gold Beacon Award of Excellence and the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) with the Silver Beacon Award of Excellence. These awards recognize unit caregivers who successfully improve unit outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that earn this designation demonstrate dynamic and outstanding performance in the areas of: Patient Outcomes, Nursing Workforce and Work Environment.
“I am incredibly proud of our nursing staff for their unwavering dedication and outstanding contributions toward achieving excellence in nursing,” said Carolyn Santora, MS, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Stony Brook University Hospital. “Our nurses are at the heart of delivering safe, compassionate, and patient-centered care—the kind of care that patients and families across Long Island have come to trust at Stony Brook.”
AACN President Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, applauds the commitment of the caregivers at Stony Brook University Hospital for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence to achieve this designation. These dedicated healthcare professionals join other members of our exceptional community of nurses, who set the standard for optimal patient care.
“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in outstanding units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care,” she explains.
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 qualify 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 aacn.org/beacon.
About Stony Brook University Hospital:
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic health center. With 624 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, Stony Brook University Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, and Kidney Transplant Center. It is home of the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sbuh.
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.
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