Each year during National Nurses Week, we celebrate the important role nurses play in healthcare. We are particularly proud of and grateful for the team of nurses at UNC Hospitals. Whether through personal pursuit of professional development or collective efforts to improve the patient experience, our nurses are dedicated to providing exceptional patient care.
This year the American Board of Nursing Specialties selected UNC Hospitals as its 2018 Nursing Certification Advocacy Award winner. UNC Hospitals received this recognition for to its high level of certification among its nurses; 49% of the UNC Hospitals nursing staff received additional certifications beyond their required credentials; the benchmark is 34%.
UNC Hospitals’ in-patient Quiet Time initiative is led by a group of nurses who identified the need for a quieter, healing environment for patients to rest and recover. With funding from the Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, the Quiet Time team led a process to improve the patient experience with changes to workflow and sound-level monitoring. All units now have standard afternoon and nighttime quiet hours, and the American Nurses Association publications highlighted the results of this effort citing UNC Hospitals as a leader in reducing hospital noise.
It is because of efforts like Quiet Time that the American Association of Critical Care Nurses recently awarded UNC Hospitals several Beacon Awards for Excellence, which recognizes a unit’s work towards optimal outcomes and exceptional patient care. UNC Hospitals now has 12 units that have received a Beacon Award—the most recognized units of any hospital in North Carolina. As a result of collaborative efforts led by the nursing team, UNC Hospitals was ranked in the top 15% of patient experience scores by Healthgrades, leading it to receive an Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ for the fourth year in a row.
Congratulations to the team of nurses at UNC Hospitals. We are incredibly grateful for the work that you do!